Soul of Fire
by Zeionia aka Disturbed
Summary: After being betrayed by Soul Society, Ichigo and his sisters leave Karakura behind to find shelter with the remains of their grandfather's clan in the Land of Fire. Instead of the peaceful life they were hoping for, they reach Konoha just as a new danger appears to threaten the Uzumaki. Heart-broken and tired of fighting, will Ichigo be able to protect his sisters and his new home?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach nor do I make any profit from this story.

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Soul of Fire

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Kotetsu watched the approaching caravan with vigilance. Inago had had a contract with Konohagakure longer than Kotestu had been a shinobi, but it never hurt to be careful. All of the caravans were accounted for, as were their contents, when Inago waved him down. Kotetsu approached the crotchety trader with caution. The old man usually didn't bother the gate guards letting his sons and daughters handle the inspection of the merchandise, so Kotetsu was naturally curious. Standing next to the old merchant were three individuals clearly not part of Inago's clan.

The most prominent was a tall young man with fiery orange hair. He had a bokken at his side and a bow slung across his back. Behind him were two young girls, probably his younger siblings, who gave him friendly smiles. All three were dirty with dust from the road and carrying very strange packs. The man's expression was closed, not unfriendly simply reserved, but he watched every motion Kotetsu made with occasional glances to the closer leaf-nin.

"This is Kurosaki Ichigo and his sisters Karin and Yuzu," said Inago. "I picked them up at the Port from Hanshou's caravan. The kid kept some bandits off their backs, not that we have that sort of problem in around Konoha, and Karin-san helped out my grandson when he got stung. Never seen a child recover from a Red-Spiker sting so fast."

Kotetsu kept his gaze neutral through years of long practice. The Red-Spiker was an extremely rare scorpion native to the Land of Fire. Stings were lethal without immediate treatment by trained medic-nin. In adults, the survival rate was fifty percent with assistance. In children, the rate was less than one percent. Kotetsu doubted Inago had _ever_ seen a child recover from a Red-Spiker sting.

"What are your reasons for coming to Konohagakure?" asked Kotetsu. "Let me see your papers."

Kurosaki glanced at Inago then turned his attention fully to Kotetsu. The chunin had no doubts that his entire person had been assessed in that first look from the position of his weapons to the speed of his draw. It was equally clear that Kurosaki was not a shinobi. His stance was completely wrong, and while his face was closed, he hid nothing.

"We're seeking political asylum," said Kurosaki. "We're not from the Elemental Countries, so we don't have any papers."

Kotetsu let his disbelief show. He had never met someone from outside the Elemental Countries. He hadn't realized people lived outside the known borders. "Why are you looking for asylum in Konohagakure?"

"Any place is as safe as another for us, but we might have family here," said Kurosaki. "I have a letter of introduction."

"Let me see that then," said Kotetsu holding an open palm.

The scroll Kurosaki gave him was older than Kotetsu was expecting. The edges were tattered and the parchment had yellowed. It had been sealed with an orange wax stamp. Despite the letter's age, the spiral pressed into the wax had retained its form—the same spiral that leaf-nin wore on their flak jackets. Kotetsu opened the letter as neatly as possible, the seal would have to inspected later for authenticity, and read the salutation. "Greetings Hokage of Konohagakure from your allies in Uzushiogakure…" He ignored the skip-beat of terror in his heart and quickly checked the closing and signature.

"Konohamaru!" he barked.

There was a clatter from the gatehouse and the young Sarutobi tumbled out of the door. Konohamaru was one of the most talented genin in Konoha and should have made chunin years ago. Unfortunately, due to a series of accidents neither he nor the younger Hyuuga girl had been promoted in any of the recent exams. Tsunade-sama had all but accused the other nations of rigging the tests. For now, the two spent their required downtime between out-of-village missions assisting the shinobi guarding the wall. Konohamaru recovered his tumble into a somersault and struck a pose before jogging the short distance to their group. Kotetsu barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes.

"You roared, sir?" said Konohamaru.

"Escort these civilians to the Hokage's tower and make sure to give her that letter," ordered Kotetsu. He formed the sign for urgent report over the scroll as he gave it Konohamaru.

"Yes, sir," said Konohamaru replying with the sign for message received. "This way, please."

Konohamaru waited as the civilians gathered their things from the caravan. Not that they had much just two bags apiece. Their baggage looked strange to Konohamaru's eyes, oddly colored and oddly shaped, but then all of his stuff was ninja equipment. Maybe civilian travel gear was different. A brief conversation with the caravan master, Inago was cold but he wasn't a jerk by any stretch of the imagination, and the four of them were on their way to the Hokage's Tower.

Kotetsu watched them go thoughtfully, his mind fretting over the contents of the letter. There was nothing he could do about it now, and the information inside was probably classified. He expected orders along those lines to trickle down in a few hours. For now, he could finish see to the caravan. To his surprise, Inago was still waiting for him, when he turned around.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Inago-san?" he asked carefully.

Inago hummed thoughtfully. His eyes were still chasing the path the Kurosakis had taken into the heart of the village.

"My clan will be staying an extra few days, so my grandson can be checked-out at the hospital," said Inago. "Will you know by then if that family will be able to stay?"

Kotetsu frowned in confusion. "If that letter is authentic, they will probably be invited to stay," he said carefully. "Is there any particular reason you want to know?"

"Ah, we owe them a debt," said Inago slowly. "I would have offered them a place in my caravan. But in their eyes, you can see they are looking for a home. Most people don't think of the roads as home."

"A place in your caravan?" repeated Kotetsu in surprise. "They didn't look like merchants."

"Bah," Inago made a dismissive noise. "That girl healed a Red Spiker sting, even you shinobi can't always manage that. The other one, she's as sweet as a lily-flower and a great cook and an excellent haggler. And the boy, well, he's had a hard time of it. But he's a fighter. Got to my grandson first. Swatted the insect. Even managed to slow down the poison until his sister could help. Hanshou said he made short work of those bandits too. Any caravan would be glad to have even one of them, and they are good children."

Kotetsu couldn't help but feel concerned. That was quite a lot of natural talent and evidence of quite a bit of training, but given their supposed background, he supposed that it was only natural. Still, to hear Inago, of all people, speak kindly of them was a shock in itself. Kotetsu was almost surprised the caravan master knew the chunin's name.

"I will make sure the information about their decision reaches you, Inago-san," said Kotetsu bowing slightly.

The caravan master smirked. "Ah, use my request to excuse your curiosity, that's fine, shinobi-san. Just don't forget it."

Kotetsu hid his dismay at being found out by a civilian. Then again, Inago was quite old. "Of course." He looked down the road once more. Oh, to be a fly on that wall. Though, given the people involved, it probably wouldn't be long before the whole village new.

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Konohamaru led his charges along the quickest route to the tower—the quickest available to civilians at any rate. Unfortunately, the path was winding as there was no straightway between the tower and any of the gates for security purposes. The visitors didn't seem to mind. The girls were looking around with interest at the buildings, people, shops, and just about everything else too. The man was less obvious in his examination of their surroundings but nonetheless scanned everything and everyone they passed with watchful eyes. Konohamaru was fairly certain he was trying to memorize the path back to the gates but couldn't be sure. None of them looked like ninja, and despite the man's weapons, he definitely did not move like a shinobi.

"So what brings you guys to Konohagakure?" he asked casually.

The girls looked at him with wide eyes and glanced to the man, who shrugged half-heartedly at them and fixed his wandering gaze on Konohamaru. The young genin swallowed inexplicably nervous. The man's gaze was sharp and wary.

"We're looking for family, shinobi-san," said the fair-haired girl. "Our maternal grandfather left records saying we might have family here, but that was some time ago."

"Ah? That's exciting," said Konohamaru. He thought of all the families that had died sinc e his grandfather's time and winced. "Do you have a name? My family has been here quite a long time, so I might know someone from your clan."

The man made a disapproving noise. Konohamaru looked back in surprise. The girls looked disappointed but not surprised.

"We probably shouldn't say anything until we know more about our situation," said the dark-haired girl.

Konohamaru looked at them again. That was a level of paranoia that didn't occur to ordinary people thought it didn't stand out too much in a hidden village. The bow and sword weren't typical shinobi weapons, but some clans did specialize.

"Are you sure you're civilians?" he asked.

"Our father achieved high rank in the military before we were born," said the man liked that explained everything.

It did explain quite a lot, admitted Konohamaru. A man from a military background would know how to fight and would probably teach his son, or at least provide lessons. The civilian military was weird about girls, so that would explain why he was the only one with weapons. A high-ranking officer would also understand the value of information. That was something anyone could learn, girls too, even if they weren't taught directly.

"That's a bizarre question," said the black-haired girl abruptly. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What's it like living here anyway?"

"Karin-chan, don't be rude," said the fair-haired girl.

Konohamaru grinned. "Hey, what sort of shinobi doesn't like to brag about their village?"

He proceeded to give a brief overview of Konohagakure—the oldest village, the most productive land, the best shinobi, the nicest villagers, the wisest Hokages, the greatest number of contracts, the best medics—things everyone heard about Konohagakure but seemed completely new to these people.

"Did you say medics?" asked the black-haired girl, Karin.

Konohamaru paused in the middle of his praises. "Yeah, Tsunade-sama is the best medic-nin in the whole of the Elemental Countries, so she runs the hospital and makes sure Konohagakure has better trained medics and more medics than any other village. She's invented a whole bunch of new medical ninjutsu too. And she's super-strong, one of the three sannin."

That went over their heads too. Everybody had heard of the sannin, even if Tsunade was the only one still alive, they were legendary. Civilians told stories about them and enemy-nin cursed them. The dark-haired girl, Karin, seemed intrigued by the idea of medical ninjutsu though.

"That's great," said the fair-haired girl. "Maybe you can pick up your studies again."

"The older you are, the harder it is to learn to manipulate chakra," said Konohamaru honestly. "But even our ordinary surgeons are very skilled.

Karin didn't reply but she did look quietly hopeful. Konohamaru was hopeful too. Not all doctors were nice people. Kabuto and Orochimaru were prime examples. But a girl who was studying to be a doctor was different from a crazy shinobi searching for immorality.

By that time, they had reached the tower. Konohamaru expertly navigated the hallways and stairs leading over the familiar path to the Hokage's office. He flashed the urgent hand-sign at the secretary as he explained why they were there. The secretary nodded in understanding and darted into the Hokage's office. In a moment, they were in the office and Konohamaru was handing over the letter and making introductions, and embarrassingly realizing half-way through that the only name he knew was Karin's so Yuzu and Ichigo had to introduce themselves.

Tsunade-sama examined the seal with a suspicious air and visibly tensed after reading the first few lines. She gave the three newcomers a bland look then turned a sharp gaze on Konohamaru.

"Find Naruto and send him here. You can return to your post after that," she ordered.

Konohamaru saluted and jumped out of the window. In the distance he could hear the startled cries of dismay from the civilians. He suppressed a burst of joyful glee. Pranks were all well and good, but he was a shinobi on a mission: Find Naruto.

Konohamaru frowned. Hokage-sama had been disturbed by the letter and she wanted Naruto. But the letter had just been about whatever clan those guys were related to. That shouldn't have made such a reaction unless they were from a dangerous clan. Konoha was not the sort of village to exile whole clans. Even the Uchiha, before the massacre, had been isolated on their compound at the most. Maybe they were Uchiha! Karin had dark hair after all. But, then again, neither of her siblings had dark hair. In fact, the Ichigo's hair was almost orange just like the seal on the letter…

Konohamaru choked and almost missed the next roof. Brightly colored hair. A scattered clan. An orange spiral. There were plenty of spiral patterns in Konoha, but only one was orange. Konohamaru increased his speed. He had to find the boss right away.

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Tsunade examined the letter again. An introduction from the former Master of Uzushiogakure theoretically kin to the trio standing in front of her desk. She could just barely remember Uzu's former master. Uzumaki Mamoru had been young and powerful and gentle and wise. When Uzu's fate was sealed, he sent away as many of his clan as would leave. But she thought that he had fallen with his village. To find the truth was otherwise, that he had survived and fathered at least another child before his passing, was startling to say the least. In the letter, he claimed to have left the world entirely. She was tempted to call it a hoax, except there was a seal at the bottom of the letter, one which could only be opened with the blood of an Uzumaki. Tsunade was tempted to try it then and there.

The Kurosaki's were watching her in turn. The oldest, Ichigo, looked wary and...tired. She had seen the same look on hundreds of shinobi following the third and fourth secret wars. Still he was standing slightly in front of his sisters in a protective stance and looked prepared to defend them even if he had been required to take his weapons off before entering the office. The girls also looked tired but that was mostly from travel and perhaps a sudden change in circumstance. Whatever horrors Ichigo had seen had by-passed his sisters. So if they were seeking political refuge, it was likely something he had done, and he had brought his sisters with him to avoid retaliation against them.

"The man who wrote this, did you meet him?" asked Tsunade.

Ichigo shook his head. "No. Our mother's parents were killed when she was very young, and she grew up with some cousins. We didn't know about him until our father gave us the seal to bring us here."

"Kurosaki is your mother's name?" asked Tsunade. "She's the daughter of Uzumaki Mamoru?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yes. Kurosaki Masaki. Our father took her name when they married."

Tsunade quirked a brow. Two generations assuming the wife's name. Perhaps that was the custom in their land.

"Why are you seeking political asylum in Konohagakure?" she asked.

Ichigo sighed. "We're not really looking for political asylum. We're not from the Elemental Countries at all, so once we ended up in Uzushiogakure, or what was left of it, we were safe on that front. We're just came to Konoha since we might have family here."

Tsunade gave him a skeptical look. She was the hokage. That sort of gentle run-around wouldn't the greenest genin. Then again, if they weren't from the Elemental Countries at all, then they might not know exactly what her position meant.

"Ichi-nii," sighed Yuzu. "Don't be so difficult."

Ichigo stiffened but kept silent. Instead it was Karin, who explained.

"Ichigo's a really strong fighter, and a few years ago he helped Soul Society—that's the place our dad is from—defeat these guys who were trying to take over the world. But since we're not from Soul Society, their government got really upset about Ichigo leaving once the war was over, even though all he did was go back to school. So they decided that the best thing to do was to kill Ichigo or to have him work for them. And then they thought, since we're related, Yuzu and I could get strong like that too, or our children could, so they were going to try to kill us also. So we left."

Tsunade stared at her in amazement. Kill one boy, who didn't want to fight, because he was too strong? She had never heard something so ridiculous in her life. Except, she had, hadn't she? She looked down at the letter. Uzushiogakure had been destroyed because its shinobi were too strong and didn't use that strength to dominate others. One small village could stand against two of the great hidden villages no more than three children could stand against an army. Naruto had also faced similar circumstances as the vessel for the nine-tails. He would definitely be sympathetic.

"I see," said Tsunade. "How influential is this Soul Society that you had to leave your world for ours?"

The three shared a significant look. Tsunade waited. She would probably let the three join the village, but only if they answered her truthfully. There was no real way to check their story, except for maybe the use of that seal in the letter, but she wanted to wait before trying it.

"It's the afterlife," said Ichigo.

Tsunade stared in astonishment. "What?"

"Soul Society, it's the place souls go after they die on Earth if they're not destined for heaven or hell. Our father was a shinigami, but not like the one you have here, and our mother was a medium who could see ghosts and fight evil spirits. It was the special power of her clan," said Ichigo. "That's why everything's so complicated."

Tsunade was gaping. She couldn't help it. He looked so earnest too, and his sisters were nodding along.

"Hell with it," muttered Tsunade. In one fluid motion, she drew a kunai, sliced open her thumb, and pressed the bloody digit to the seal on the letter.

There was a tiny puff of smoke and then there was a small notebook sitting on top of the letter. She flipped to the first entry.

_Hello, future Hokage of Konohagakure, I am glad our bloodline is still so tightly tied to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Perhaps you are a descendant of Tsunade-hime, she was such a sweet child. You may not have heard of me, I know the fate of destroyed villages, but I hope the ties between Leaf and Whirlpool have not been forgotten. I was Uzumaki Mamoru, Master of Uzushiogakure, but now I am known as Kurosaki Mamoru, husband and father to another adorable daughter. _

_I have quite a story to tell. To you it will sound like a spirit-tale to rival that of the Sage of the Sixth Paths, but I swear every word is true. And every word is important to understand the quirks of my wife's family and your new visitors. My beloved wife is a Quincy, which is a special clan of people who can see and fight evil spirits. It is quite a strange world I have found myself in…_

Tsunade looked up. "You can see ghosts? All of you? You are Quincy?"

Yuzu blushed. "I can hear ghosts, but I'm not very good at seeing them. Not like Karin and Ichi-nii."

Karin scoffed. "It's a useless talent. Especially here. I haven't seen one ghost at all."

Ichigo was just staring at the book on the desk. "Where did that come from?" he muttered.

An instant later his puzzled expression cleared, and he shot a wary look out the window. Tsunade frowned at him before looking out the window herself. A moment later, she sensed it. Naruto was finally on his way. She looked at Ichigo again. His face had smoothed into neutrality, and he was gauging her reaction. She wondered how strong a fighter he was exactly. Obviously his ability to sense chakra was well-developed, but his chakra and that of the girls fluctuated constantly. It was stronger than that of the average civilian, likely thanks to their Uzumaki heritage, but there was no suggestion of training beyond that of basic martial arts. Even his stance was strange, not one seen on typical leaf-nin, though it _was_ a stance of some kind.

Then Naruto was in the window. Bright and loud and burning with the will of fire. He looked so much like his father, Tsunade felt her heart clench. But she was used to that feeling by now and set it aside easily.

"You sent for me, Hokage-sama? Konohamaru was pretty excited," said Naruto.

Tsunade straightened in her seat. She knew he was only using her title because of their visitors. She had managed to pound at least that much decorum into his head.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto, my successor." Not a flicker of recognition from the three that couldn't be contributed to his last name. They had definitely never of Naruto before. "Naruto, this is the Kurosaki family, Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin. They've requested permission to join Konoha as civilians seeking political asylum. They are also the grandchildren of Uzumaki Mamoru, Kushina's father."

Naruto let out a yelp of surprise and almost fell out of the window. "You mean, they're my cousins?"

"We will need a blood-test to confirm it, of course," said Tsunade. "But I have no reason to doubt their claims." _Other than the whole idea is insane._ But she couldn't tell Naruto that or the Kurosakis that without being cruel.

"Pleased to meet you, Uzumaki-san," said Yuzu brightly. "I'm Yuzu. This is Karin. And that's Ichigo. Don't worry about Ichi-nii. He frowns like that all the time."

Ichigo was scowling now but not at anything particular. Naruto looked at Tsunade in hopeful confusion. She was busy rifling through her desk searching for the appropriate paperwork.

"Here are three residency forms—

"We'll need four," said Ichigo.

Tsunade glared at the interruption. Then what he said registered and she looked at the girls. "Neither of you look pregnant." Ignoring startled cries of protest, she switched a doubtful gaze to Ichigo. "You aren't either, probably."

The girls and Naruto shrieked again this time. Ichigo just rolled his eyes. "It's for Kon. He's not really alive, but he is a person. He's in with our luggage right now."

"Oh, that's right," said Yuzu with a gasp. "You have to include Bostov."

Karin was rolling her eyes now. "Ugh. That stupid bear."

"You have a bear? In your luggage?" asked Naruto in confusion.

"He's not a bear," said Yuzu. "He's a lion. A stuffed lion. With a little soul inside so he can talk."

Naruto just looked more and more confused. At the mention of a soul, Tsunade realized this had something to do with their _other_ heritage and conceded to the inevitable by pulling out another form. She tossed the pile at Ichigo, who caught it with ease.

"Fill these out and Naruto will file them when you're done. Naruto, take them to the mission desk and have them pick-out one of the pre-furnished apartments. Tell the manager we'll be paying the first month's rent. Oh, and have Shizune take a blood sample from one of them before they leave. She can take it to the hospital later," said Tsunade. "Welcome to Konohagakure. Now scram."

All four bowed, even Ichigo, who didn't seem the bowing sort, and scurried out the honest. Naruto tossed her a bright grin over his shoulder. The shock was wearing off, and he was finally realizing that these people were his family. In a few hours, she knew he would be back crowing with glee. She returned her attention to the letter and journal lying on her desk. She had paperwork she could be doing, but this seemed so much more urgent and fascinating. Tsunade thought longingly of the bottle in her desk, but no, given what she had heard, she would need all of her wits to make it through the journal. Knuckling down, Tsunade started to read.

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Naruto led his new-found cousins to the mission desk as ordered after picking up their bags and having their blood drawn by Shizune. Naruto hadn't seen a lion, but he assumed there was one somewhere in the brightly colored packs. He was more intrigued by the wooden sword and traditional bow mixed among Ichigo's possessions. He wondered how good the other man was with them. Maybe they could fight some time, but then again, maybe civilians didn't do that sort of thing. Tsunade had given them civilian papers after all.

Ichigo was filling out the papers in a rapid yet tidy scrawl as the girls flipped through the book of available housing units. The mission desk maintained several apartments for shinobi who specialized in long-term missions. When they came back home, a secured, vetted apartment was waiting for them. Other shinobi used the same service when they decided to move apartments, and recently retired shinobi were more than welcome to pick out a new apartment from the same catalogue. Usually civilians, even new ones, had to find an apartment on their own, but given the Kurosakis' circumstances, it was no surprise Tsunade had directed them here.

"What do you think of this area, Uzumaki-san?" asked Yuzu quietly.

Naruto looked at the listing. "Ah, it's not bad. Sai lives around there. It's a lot quieter than most of the village, but there's not much to do."

Yuzu frowned and flipped to another page. "What about this one?"

"Oh, that's good. Sakura and Ino have an apartment in that building because it's so close to the hospital," said Naruto. "That's pretty small though."

"It should be okay," said Yuzu. "We don't have very much stuff, and Karin and I missed sharing a room."

"Oh?" asked Naruto.

"We started university last year. Karin went to Tokyo to take pre-Med and I stayed in Karakura," said Yuzu.

Naruto stared. "I don't know what that means."

"Oh? How does school work around here?" asked Yuzu.

"Eh? I went to the Academy when I was six and graduated when I was twelve, that's pretty normal for shinobi kids. The ones that don't become genin usually go into trade. I'm not really sure how civilians do it. Noble kids get private tutors and things. But almost everybody takes after their parents or finds an apprenticeship somewhere," said Naruto.

"We also start school at six," said Yuzu. "But you're require to go through middle school, that's until you're fifteen. But, if you want a better job, you go to high school three more years. Then after that, if you want specialized training, you go to university for at least four years to get a degree. Sometimes longer if you want something really specific. Some people take over their parents business and don't worry about the degrees, but some businesses are really complicated so they have to go."

"But that's almost twenty years of school!" protested Naruto.

"It does take a long time," said Yuzu. "Ichi-nii had just started on his law degree when we left."

"I haven't heard of any place having requirements like that," said Naruto. He was still learning all the political stuff and keeping track of civilian schooling wasn't really his responsibility but surely someone would have mentioned that sort of insane requirement. As a child, he would definitely have used it as a reason to become a shinobi.

"That's because were from Karakura Town in Japan. It's not part of the Elemental Countries," said Yuzu.

Naruto gaped. "No way. The only people I've heard of not from the Elemental Countries are summons. But that's only because they're from different dimensions."

Yuzu smiled gently. "Oh? Is that so?"

Karin was waving down the mission desk shinobi. Iruka-sensei was teaching again this year otherwise Naruto would have introduced them. "We'll take this one."

"Ah, I've filled out all of these," said Ichigo waving the papers in his direction.

Naruto blinked. "Already? But there were four forms!" He took the stack of papers and flipped through them quickly. They were all correct, even the one on Kon, which was a little bizarre. Age: 7 years. Blood type: n/a. Height: 27 centimeters. Weight: 168 grams. He really had filled in the form for a toy.

"How did you do it so fast?" asked Naruto.

Ichigo's expression turned sort of blank like he was trying very hard not to think of something bad. Sakura got like that sometimes after training with Tsunade. "Kukaku insisted."

"Who?" asked Naruto as he handed over the forms to the mission desk and accepted the keys to the new apartment and temporary papers for the Kurosakis.

"A relative of our father's," said Ichigo.

"Okay," said Naruto biting down on his curiosity. "Well, let's go."

Naruto led them back through the village to their new apartment. It took a while. He had to greet all sorts of people and point out the best places to his new cousins. They didn't seem to mind though. Or at least, Yuzu and Karin were interested. Ichigo didn't talk much at all. He just stood there looking grim. Naruto could deal with that though. He had spent his formative years trying to make friends with Sasuke after all.

He found the appropriate building with ease having visited Sakura's apartment so often. After sorting out their rent with the building manager—a month on the Hokage's dime was nothing to scoff at, Tsunade must have really wanted them to feel comfortable—he took them up to their new apartment. It was on the fourth floor, which might have been a rough on civilians but none of them complained, and had a surprisingly nice view of the village and the hokage monument from the back windows.

After that Naruto wasn't sure what to do. He was excited to meet his new cousins—Sasuke's Karin was cool and all, but she was a little strange—but he could tell that these guys were about to drop.

"Thanks for your help," said Ichigo abruptly as he wandered into the apartment.

"We really do appreciate it," added Karin a bit more gently.

Yuzu turned wide eyes on Naruto. "Uzumaki-san, would you like to come over for dinner later this week?"

"Huh?" Naruto stared in confusion.

"Would you like to have dinner at our apartment on Friday? If you have other plans, that's okay. I know it's sudden," said Yuzu.

"I—what—I'd love to, but are you sure?" asked Naruto.

Yuzu frowned. "Am I sure? Of course, you're family, Uzumaki-san. And we'd all like to get to know you."

"That'd be…really nice," said Naruto. "Oh, and call me Naruto! None of this formal stuff, Kurosaki-san."

Yuzu smiled. "Call me Yuzu then. You could bring some friends if you want."

"You mean like my team?" asked Naruto dazed with elation.

"Ah that would be great. We've heard a little bit about shinobi since we arrived here. Your team's a bit like your family, right? They've been looking after you all this time, so we'd like to know them too. And meeting new people can be scary, so it's good to have a little back up," said Yuzu kindly.

"Right," said Naruto firmly. "Sasuke's out on a mission. And so is Karin. We're sort of related to her, so you might want to invite her too sometime. But Kakashi-sensei is in town. And so is Sakura. And that Sai-bastard. And Tenzou. That's four. Is that okay? Is four too many? And with me, it's five. Five's a lot of people."

"It's a good number Naruto," said Yuzu. "I like to cook. But could you invite everyone? At, um, 1800 hours. On Friday."

"Right," said Naruto. "Got it! Friday. The team. Here. 1800 hours. Okay. See you later, Yuzu-san!"

"Bye, Naruto-san," Yuzu called as he bounded the hall.

Naruto needed to invite to the team. The first one should be Sakura. She was right there. She would know what was appropriate to bring to your first dinner with your family. Right? He dropped down two stories and shot down the hall.

"Sakura! Sakura! What do I do? I have cousins! Sakura?"

The door slammed open and a pink-haired demon growled at him. Suddenly, Naruto remembered that Sakura was only here in the afternoon if she had pulled the night-shift in the hospital and needed more sleep. Ah, well, she probably wouldn't kill him once she heard his news. He had cousins now, new ones, who had come to Konohagakure because of him. It was definitely worth it.

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That's the end of the first chapter. It's been a long time since I've written anything substantial and this is going to be a whopper. If you noticed any glaring errors of a grammatical or spelling nature, then I apologize and I'll try to fix it. If you noticed any glaring errors of a canonical nature, well…it's a crossover fic. There are going to be a lot.

I started this idea just after the 4th shinobi war started in Naruto and before the end of the Xcution arc in Bleach. So this story is canon-compliant up to that point, and I included some things that I thought were useful from later arcs. But, if you notice characters that should be dead who are alive, or vice-versa, then that would be why. Also, I'm going to try pairings in this fic, which is something I usually avoid, but there's a first time for everything.

Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Soul of Fire

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Ichigo stared hopelessly at the grocery list Yuzu had given him this morning. Money was, fortunately, a non-issue at the moment. Old goat-face had loaded their packs with valuables the instant he had word from Urahara, and the funds their maternal grandfather had left them were substantial once Ichigo finally figured out how to get them out of that scroll. Watching the hokage unseal that book had been helpful in that regard at least. They had also ended up with a lot more artifacts than he had expected from that side of the family. So many, in fact, that he had been forced to stop opening the seals because he couldn't figure out how to put everything back and they were running out of room. He thought maybe he could have Naruto look at some of them after dinner, but that was a problem for later.

He glanced at the bustling market again. Ichigo had passed through here almost every day for the past week completing one errand after another for his sisters as they settled into their new lives. He was fairly certain they didn't have any of the ingredients Yuzu wanted at any of the open market stalls. He wasn't familiar enough with Konoha to guess about the location of specialty spice shops.

On his shoulder, Kon wiggled just enough to get a look at the list. "Maybe you could go back to that main street near the gate," whispered the plushie.

When Ichigo had gone to retrieve their residency papers—finished suspiciously fast in Ichigo's opinion—Kon's had been included with the other four, despite some snickers from the shinobi at the desk. Technically, Kon was now a citizen of Konohagakure along with the other Kurosakis, but given his history with Twelfth Division and Ichigo's ever increasing sense of paranoia, they had all agreed that Kon would act like a regular toy in public, at least for a little while. It meant Ichigo garnered some stares as a grown man carrying a doll on his shoulder, but back home his hair had merited just as many looks, so he was mostly used to it. He wouldn't trade the option of a quick escape from his body for anything. He was comfortable with his bokken, and there was no rule against him carrying it, but Kon was his back-up in case he absolutely had to get out of his body to fight.

"There were a lot of stores, but by the gate they'd be mostly selling souvenirs, right?" replied Ichigo not bothering to whisper. Plenty of people talked to themselves.

"Um, excuse me," said a quiet voice.

Ichigo turned quickly, not too fast, because that got a bad reaction in village where every third person was a ninja, and found himself staring into pure white eyes in a kind face. He wondered for a moment if she was like Tousen and born blind, but he quickly decided that didn't matter. She was a shinobi. He could see her forehead protector tied around her throat like a necklace, but more significantly, to Ichigo at least, he could feel her reiatsu.

_Everyone_ in the Elemental Countries had a notable amount of spiritual power, even the civilians. The shinobi had even more than that, and the higher-ranked shinobi had proportionally larger amounts. The worst part was none of them seemed to notice or to be able to control it. It was maddening. Ichigo and Karin both had horrible headaches the first few days until they learned to adjust. Even Yuzu had been able to distinguish shinobi from normal civilians. It also made the shinobi in disturbingly Hollow-like masks staking out their apartment impossible to ignore. As a _civilian_, Ichigo was fairly sure he wasn't supposed to know their silent guard was there at all, much less ask the one following him where he could pick up coriander and cinnamon. The woman in front of him was his age, but her reiatsu was well-developed marking her as a strong shinobi.

"You look like you're having trouble," said the kunoichi.

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck—a nervous habit he'd never managed to break—and ignored the growing blush in his cheeks. "My family just moved to Konoha, and my sister wanted to cook a big meal to greet our new cousin, but I haven't been able to find what she wanted."

"May I see your list?" asked the kunoichi.

Ichigo wordlessly handed it over. He watched her read it carefully and lifted up a small prayer of thanks that the Elemental Countries used a language virtually identical to Japanese. But she was reading the lines which meant…

"So you're not blind."

He didn't mean to say it aloud, but couldn't take it back. The woman looked startled. Kon none-too-subtly kicked him in the shoulder.

"My apologies, shinobi-san," he said quickly.

"You really aren't from Konoha if you haven't heard of the Hyuuga, and you definitely are not a ninja," she said thoughtfully. "But you thought I was blind _and_ a shinobi?"

"It's possible, if you're really good," said Ichigo with a shrug. He thought back to his own, fortunately temporary, blindness. "It means you use what skills you have left to the best of your abilities."

The woman looked surprised. "That's right." Her gaze wandered to Ichigo's bokken. "Did you come from the Land of Iron?"

Ichigo sighed. Everyone they had met on the way to Konoha asked if he was from the Land of Iron. Eventually, he realized it was the bokken Urahara had given him coupled with the bow from Ishida. Those were samurai weapons, and samurai, it seemed, were exclusively from the Land of Iron.

"Our family isn't from the Elemental Countries," said Ichigo into the awkward silence. "But it looks like Konoha is going to be our home from now on."

The woman smiled at him. "Then welcome home, not-samurai-san. And let me tell you where to find the spice shop."

Ichigo felt his blush rise again. "It's Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo. Pleased to meet you, Hyuuga-san. And thank you for your help."

"I'm Hyuuga Hinata," she said. "And, as kunoichi of Konoha, it's the least I can do to help you find your way."

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Naruto was pacing. It was almost 1800 hours. Should they leave now? Would it be rude to be too early? Too late? What if they didn't like his house-warming gift? What if they didn't like his team? Sai was still kind of a weirdo, even after all this time, and Kakashi-sensei was a bit much for anybody. Well, if they didn't like his team that was their problem. The team had been there for him forever, at least since he was twelve, and that was longer than anybody except Iruka-sensei. Should he have invited Iruka-sensei? Maybe they could do that next time. Would there _be_ a next time? He could invite them over, maybe? If they liked him? Oh kami-sama, what if they didn't like him?

A fist landed on his skull. A gentle love-tap by Sakura's standards, but it still had him on the floor seeing stars. He looked up at her once his vision cleared. She was trying to be serious and kind at the same time and looking aggravated instead. Sakura's medical skills were excellent. Her bedside manner needed a little work.

"Naruto, you're a very likable person," said Sakura. "But you're going to wear a hole in my rug, so knock it off."

"But Sakura-chan!" protested Naruto. "This is my first time meeting family that's not, you know, Karin or technically dead."

"You _are_ related to Tsunade. And you're related to the Desert Sand Siblings as closely as you are to Karin," said Sakura.

Her voice had gotten flat at the end, and Naruto waved a hand to send the thought on its way. He shouldn't have mentioned Karin. Never mention Karin around Sakura. For someone who had stopped loving Sasuke, she really disliked Karin.

"But I met those guys before I knew they were family," said Naruto. "And these guys. They came to Konoha because of me. Because I was here. And Kotetsu said that Inago really, really liked them. _Inago,_ that old prune, wanted them in his caravan. He's super-rich! What if they don't like me and go off and live with him?"

Now Sakura actually looked concerned. She leaned over so she could stare in his eyes. "Naruto, this isn't like when we were little and nobody would play with you. They're not from Konoha. They're not from some other part of the Land of Fire. They're not even from the Elemental Countries. They don't know about the Kyuubi or the Fourth Shinobi War or the Sage of Six Paths. When they look at you, all they are going to see is you. A cousin that they've never met before. Someone who might be real family someday. There is nothing about _you_ to dislike."

Naruto shot her a quavering smile. "Thanks, Sakura."

Sakura nodded. "That's better. Now, get your tree. It's time to go."

Naruto gasped and raced for the door. He had picked out a bonsai tree as a welcoming gift after shooting down Sasuke's suggestion of a tomato plant that had come with his last report. Sakura was carrying a bouquet of cherry blossoms, daisies, and plums that Ino had created in a vain attempt to stop Naruto's irrational panic. Tsunade had sent a small bottle of good sake as a house warming present. Though when Naruto had gone to pick it up, she looked like she was tempted to drink it herself. After the results from the hospital came back positive, Tsunade had gotten a little weird about the Kurosakis. Naruto was going to grill her about it as soon as he got a chance.

Sakura finished resetting the traps around her door and locked it. These weren't the major deterrents people like Kakashi and Sasuke set up around their houses, but little things to trip up a potential burglar or mark if some unauthorized had entered the apartment. Naruto wondered if his cousins would have a similar set up or if they would be satisfied with locks. Civilians were weird about security, but Ichigo at least had some fighting experience.

He trailed up the steps behind Sakura, who had changed into her usual red dress and leggings, and wondered if he looked okay. He had ditched the jumpsuit and found an orange shirt and black pants. They weren't super-nice clothes, but a yukata had seemed too formal and everything else he owned was a version of his uniform in varying degrees of respectability. When he reached the landing, he decided he didn't have to worry. Yamato and Sai were there with Kakashi trapped between them in a way that suggested he had been escorted in order to arrive on time. In deference to the informal atmosphere, Kakashi and Yamato had left of their flak-vests whereas Sai had done absolutely nothing to change his appearance.

"Ah, you're late," said Kakashi.

Naruto's heart skipped a beat, but Sakura broke in before the panic took hold. "Ha, you're one to talk! Naruto, we're not late. Go knock on the door before you give yourself a heart attack."

Naruto nodded and raised a hand to knock. Instead he stopped and stared at the door. It felt strange. Almost like there was an invisible bubble just waiting to explode the instant he put a hand to the wood. It made Naruto nervous about touching it. But his teammates had been waiting here for a while, surely they would have noticed something by now. Maybe this was a lesson to see underneath the underneath. Kakashi still sprung those on them every so often as bonding exercises. Sasuke always complained bitterly afterward, but Naruto knew he was secretly happy to be included.

"What did they do to the door?" he asked.

"I don't think they did anything to the door, Naruto," said Yamato. "They _are_ civilians."

"Good grief, Naruto, it's just a door," said Sakura who lifted her hand to knock.

There was the sound of muffled conversation inside followed by a loud the thump. Then a voice shouted, "Don't touch the door!"

Sakura froze in place. Naruto shot her a superior look while their other teammates exchanged concerned glances. From the other side, there was a sound of someone approaching and a noise like ripping paper. Then the door slid open to reveal an abashed looking Yuzu and behind her Ichigo, who was wadding some paper into a ball.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto-san," said Yuzu. "I forgot to take down the protective ward on the door. Please come in."

Naruto missed the concerned looks from his teammates as he toed-off his sandals and entered the apartment. He did get a good look at the back of the door when Yuzu closed it behind Yamato. There were still bits of rice-paper stuck to the back. He wondered if they had used a seal developed by the Uzumaki and if that was why he had noticed and others had not.

He quickly let that go in favor of looking at the apartment. There was a small kitchenette with a small table that could seat four. He had seen it before when he had dropped off the Kurosakis a few days ago, and it had been depressingly empty to his eyes. Now there were dishes drying on the rack, spices on the counter, and a big bowl of colorful fruit on the table. Not to mention, the delicious smell of curry throughout the apartment.

The kitchenette opened directly into the living room, which had undergone an even bigger change. The wall across from the door was painted brilliant blue with an intricate cross-like pattern layered on top in white. The right-hand wall was dark green but with a weird spiral that looked a bit like a misshapen sharingan. Each of the three spirals was a different color: red, blue, and yellow. Directly across from that on the left-hand wall was an orange Uzu-spiral set against a backdrop of pale gray.

"Do you like it?" asked Yuzu. "I had Ichi-nii try lots of designs. But Karin said I had to stop changing things yesterday so we could air the apartment out."

"It's amazing," said Naruto. Abruptly, he remembered the gifts he was holding. "Ah, here. It's a miniature maple tree. I wasn't sure what sort of housewarming gifts you were used to. But here it's supposed to bring good luck."

Yuzu was smiling again. Naruto had the impression it was her default expression. "It's lovely, Naruto-san. We have the same tradition in Japan."

"Awesome," said Naruto. "Oh, and Tsunade-baa-chan, sent some sake too. It's from her private stash so it's definitely good."

Yuzu stared blankly for a moment. "Oh, from Hokaga-sama? That was nice of her."

Sakura's fist collided with Naruto's skull. "Don't call her that in public, idiot," she muttered. She held out her bouquet. "I'm Haruno Sakura, one of this one's teammates, my friend Ino and I live downstairs. These are from her family's flower shop."

Yuzu, completely un-phased by the random show of violence, beamed at her. "The flowers are beautiful. Thank you. Karin-chan? Could you get a vase please? Ichi-nii, get the table from our room please for the bonsai. And would everyone sit down? Then we can do proper introductions."

The shinobi moved into the living room where someone, presumably Yuzu, had set up a low table and several cushions. Ichigo had disappeared back into the apartment and returned with a small stand, which he set up beneath the Uzu-spiral, and carefully set up the tree. He sat at the head of the table beneath with his back to the wall with the cross. Naruto sat on his right on the Uzu-wall. Sakura sat next to him, then Sai, and then Yuzu at the foot of the table, presumably to be closer the kitchen. Yamato was on her right, then Karin, and finally Kakashi between her and Ichigo.

There was a moment of awkward silence where everyone stared at each other as they sat down. Naruto was trying to determine if he had worn the appropriate sort of clothes. But the Kurosakis were wearing fashions native to their homeland. Naruto was fairly certain he had never before seen the blue material that made up Ichigo's trousers. If Sai's outfit didn't earn any comments, Naruto figured that he was okay.

"Ah, right introductions," said Yuzu. "Like I said, I'm Yuzu, and that's Karin, my twin. And Ichigo is our older brother. He scowls at everybody like that, so don't worry." A quick glance confirmed that, if Ichigo hadn't been scowling before, he certainly was now. "And we just moved here from Karakura, Japan."

Naruto perked up. "Right. Sakura introduced herself already, but she's the best medic-nin ever. And that's Sai. He's a super-talented artist. And Yamato, he captained our squad when Kakashi-sensei was sick, and he grew on us. And that's Hatake Kakashi. He's an awesome ninja. He captained our squad Sakura and Sasuke and I were just starting out. Oh Sasuke, isn't here. He and his Karin had to leave on assignment a few days ago, but you should definitely meet them too. And, um, that's it?"

"Thanks for coming," said Ichigo bluntly. "Now don't let Yuzu's food get cold."

Yuzu had already laid the food on the table. A pot of curry, two large plates of rice, and a pot of tea with a handful of side dishes. Everything was communal, which was a kindness for the shinobi, though at their level most were immune to most poisons by now. At Ichigo's suggestion, the guests quickly started passing plates and pouring tea. Naruto's first bite almost made him cry.

"It's so good!" he said through a large mouthful. He had never had curry flavored quite like this before, but it was delicious.

"Yuzu's cooking is the best," said Karin. "She can make anything."

Naruto perked up. "Can you make ramen?"

Fire sparked in Yuzu's eyes and her chest filled with pride. "I can make anything. I made curry this time because Ichi-nii always asks for it, even though it's boring. I'll definitely make ramen next time."

"Woo-hoo!" cheered Naruto. Sakura elbowed him in the side and he settled back down.

"The walls are very colorful," said Sakura. "Ino and I haven't managed to paint our apartment yet. We can never agree on a color. But maybe we could do something like this."

"Yes, the Uzu-spiral is very well done," agreed Kakashi. "But I'm not familiar with the other symbols. Do they mean anything?"

"That blue one is the Kurosaki cross. It's the symbol of our mother's branch of the Quincy clan. We got the pattern from Uncle Ryuuken a few years ago, but we couldn't really use it back home," said Yuzu. "And that one is the symbol of House Shiba, our father's clan."

"It's also a spiral," said Kakashi. "That's interesting."

"It signifies the Eddy of Heaven," said Yuzu brightly. "The change that keeps the world in motion."

"So you have whirlpools on both sides of your family," said Yamato. "That's unusual."

"It means we get the crazy from both sides," said Karin.

Naruto opened his mouth to protest but reconsidered after a moment's thought. Tsunade, Karin, and Nagato were all pretty unbelievable. His mom was famous for her excitable personality. And no one had ever described Naruto as calm, even if he had earned the title of sage. If the Shibas were anything like the Uzumakis, then crazy was probably too mild a description. Instead, Naruto took another bite of curry and tried to imagine a family of people like him.

Conversation resumed at the other end of the table. Yuzu was asking questions of Yamato and Sai while Karin quietly grilled Sakura about the hospital. She had been studying medicine before the family's move to Konoha and was apparently interested in continuing. Naruto's end of the table was silent. Kakashi wasn't a big talker under the best of circumstances, and it seemed Ichigo didn't bother to talk at all if he could help it. Naruto was too nervous about messing up to say something. But if he didn't say anything, wouldn't that be worse? Sai was doing better than Naruto for goodness sake. What sort of small talk could the artist make that wouldn't send someone running?

"Your hair is my favorite color," blurted Naruto.

Dead silence. Naruto's face burned. Ichigo was staring at him like he was crazy. Even Kakashi's visible eye was filled with sympathy. Sakura gently patted his knee in support.

"Ah, thank you?" said Ichigo cautiously.

Before the silence could stretch further, Karin dissolved into laughter. Between giggles she managed to say, "At least someone likes your hair, Ichi-nii."

"Super lucky!" added Yuzu seriously. "You'd never get a compliment like that in Japan."

"Er, what?" asked Naruto.

Karin and Yuzu were both staring at Ichigo silently encouraging him to answer. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"In Japan, almost everyone has coloring like Karin. Even Yuzu's hair is pretty light. People thought I bleached my hair to look like a Yankee, a punk," he clarified at Naruto's confused look. "I got jumped by thugs from elementary school until high school. Sometimes at university too."

"Ichi-nii gave the gangs in Karakura a bad rep because he could beat all of them _and_ was on the honor roll at school," added Yuzu.

"Your hair's even lighter than Ichigo's," said Karin. "They would have definitely gone after you too."

"Wait, these guys attacked you just because of your hair color?" asked Sakura in disbelief reaching for her own pink locks.

Ichigo shrugged. "They attacked my friend Chad because he was half-Mexican, which made his skin really tan. Japan isn't a good place to be different."

"Well, Konoha is a great place to be different," proclaimed Naruto. "The Will of Fire means everyone in the village working together to protect everyone else in the village no matter how weird."

"Is that so?" asked Ichigo. He wasn't scowling anymore but was back to looking blank. Naruto suspected that not-unhappy was the best he would be getting from Ichigo, but Yuzu and Karin looked a little more hopeful.

"That's not how we usually say it," said Kakashi. "But it is the founding ideal of Konoha."

Ichigo looked thoughtful, which made Naruto cheer—on the inside—and he didn't seem to be bothered by Naruto's hair comment, which almost made Naruto cheer aloud, but he didn't need his cousins to think him any weirder. Sakura gave him a tiny smile before going back to Karin's questions. Naruto tried to get a feel for their conversation, but it had gotten technical, not exactly proper dinner conversation, even though no one seemed to mind. Instead he focused on his plate, which almost empty, and promised himself that he wouldn't make any more blunders.

The sharp smell of fear brought his head back up. At the end of the table, Yamato was sweating in his seat; Yuzu was looking at him in concern; and Sai was staring at both of them in a way that signaled alarm.

"I don't think you're allowed to talk about that, Yamato-sempai," said Sai in what was, for him, a worried tone.

"I, ah, I—

Yamato was stuttering and casting about for something to say though his gaze was locked on the friendlier Kurosaki sister.

"Yuzu!" said Karin and Ichigo sharply.

Yuzu looked away from Yamato, who had yet to relax. "Hmm?"

"Don't ask the shinobi about classified things. That could get them in trouble," said Ichigo. "Yamato-san, you don't have to answer."

Yamato relaxed abruptly and breathed out a sigh of relief. Yuzu looked faintly disappointed but was smiling again in short order. Sai was still looking disturbed, which was disturbing in and of itself.

"Sorry, Yamato-san, I didn't mean upset you," said Yuzu. "Why don't I get the daifuku? And some water."

Yuzu got up to get the dessert. Naruto turned his attention to Yamato. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"She just asked what I did as a shinobi of the village, and somehow I ended up talking about ANBU," said Yamato. "I don't know why."

"Yuzu was involved in an incident a few years ago," said Ichigo looking guilty. "She's gotten very…insistent since then."

"It felt like I was staring down Ibiki," said Yamato sadly. "A tiny, pretty Ibiki."

Yuzu sat back down passing a plate of daifuku to Sai and handing a cup of water to Yamato. "I am sorry, Yamato-san. I was just a bit curious and over did it a little."

"Over did what?" Naruto heard Sakura say quietly. Nobody else seemed to notice, but Naruto wondered the same thing.

He did help himself to couple of daifuku when the plate passed his way. They looked delicious. Half were green and half were orange, and all of them had a dust of powdered sugar in a spiral pattern. Yuzu really had gone all-out on the food.

"If you had that much effect on Yamato, it sounds like you have a talent for T&I," said Kakashi.

Naruto spluttered, just barely managing to swallow his daifuku before choking. Sakura was frowning hard at their sensei. She definitely would have walloped Naruto for saying something like that.

"T&I?" asked Karin hesitantly.

"Torture and interrogation," said Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei!" protested Naruto. He was happy to hear Sakura echoing his indignation. How was he supposed to make a good impression if his teacher was accusing sweet, innocent Yuzu of being a talented interrogator?

Yuzu didn't look offended. In fact, she looked almost pleased. "Do you think so? I did get some tips from Yoruichi-sama. Oh, but a position like that would require a lot of trust on the part of the village, and we've only been here a week."

Naruto stared. That sounded like…she was interested in that sort of work? He exchanged a disbelieving look with Sakura. Karin had her head cradled in her hands and Ichigo looked resigned. Yuzu still looked quietly pleased.

"You would have to join the ranks," continued Kakashi. "And learn, at the very least, the jutsu they use to contain prisoners."

Now Yuzu was frowning slightly. "The shinobi who led us to the tower, Konohamaru, he said that learning how to use chakra was harder for adults."

It was Kakashi's turn to look surprised. "You don't know how to use chakra at all? You all have pretty good reserves even if your control isn't that great."

"Never heard of it until we got here. Is it liked reiatsu?" asked Karin.

"I'm not familiar with reiatsu," said Sakura. "But chakra is produced by combining mental and physical energy. Shinobi use chakra to perform ninjutsu and genjutsu and otherwise impossible feats. Other fighters can also develop their chakra system by training their skills in battle."

"Ichi-nii's the only one who's been in real battle," said Karin ignoring the way her brother tensed. "But you said all of us have it?"

"Maybe it's because you're Uzumaki?" suggested Sai. "They are supposed to have very unusual chakra."

Naruto was nodding even as he kept one eye on Ichigo. Tsunade had said he was supposed to be a good fighter, and obviously that meant more than beating up thugs who were angry about his hair. He would have liked a chance to ask more about that, but with his team here, he didn't feel comfortable broaching the subject.

"Is there a test to check?" asked Karin.

She seemed unusually interested, even if they had started on the subject because of Yuzu. Then again, Karin had spent the whole dinner quizzing Sakura about the hospital. Most of Tsunade's advancements were in medical ninjutsu rather than mundane skills. If she wanted a good job there, she would almost have to learn some medical-jutsu and that required precise chakra control.

Sakura was thoughtful. "Well, we could try the test the academy uses."

"What?" protested Naruto. "They don't even know about chakra. How could they make a clone already?"

Sakura gave him a careless whack. "Not _that_ test, Naruto. The one they use to test for chakra in civilian kids." She looked at Karin. "Hold out your hands. Palms up."

Karin shot her hands out. Sakura moved her own above them. "I'm going to push a little bit of my chakra into your body so you can feel it. Then you try to push it out with your chakra, okay?"

Naruto stared in fascination. He had never needed this test. He'd had impressive chakra reserves even as small child thanks to the fox. He wasn't particularly skilled at sensing chakra, not like Sasuke's Karin or Kakashi-sensei, but he could tell the difference between a shinobi and civilian. Now that he was paying attention, all three Kurosakis felt more like pre-genin than untrained fighters.

If he concentrated, he could tell when Sakura pushed at Karin. For a minute or so, nothing happened except Karin's face getting redder and redder. Then he felt the wisp of chakra in Karin solidify and push back. In the end, it felt like enough chakra to equal a talented genin.

"That was a good try," said a smiling Sakura. "You even used the same amount of pressure I did. That sort of thing is important in medical jutsu."

Karin looked pleased. Yuzu leaned forward. "Can I try?"

Sakura shooed Sai out of the way and tried the same with Yuzu. She got it a little faster than her sister. Managing to gather the energy before pushing rather than doing both at the same time. When Sakura pulled her hands away, she looked thoughtful.

"That was warm. Could it be a fire-affinity, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Sounds likely," said Kakashi.

"Is that good?" asked Yuzu.

"Well, there'll be plenty of people to train you if you decided to join up," said Kakashi. "We are in the Land of Fire."

Yuzu nodded. "Okay. I'll think about it. You should try too, Ichi-nii."

Naruto looked at Ichigo, who shrugged casually. "Why not?"

Naruto scooted back to make room and Sakura moved to their end of the table. Ichigo didn't look thrilled by the idea, but he held out his hands regardless. Naruto thought Ichigo would have a bit more power than his sisters and watched with interest as Sakura started the test. Sakura pushed and Ichigo started to gather his energy…

It was like a bomb going off in Naruto's face. The sudden swell of chakra was that large. Sakura drew back her hands with a yelp, and Naruto was pretty sure he could hear Kakashi swearing across the table. Naruto was trying to blink spots out of his eyes, except they weren't actually there, and his ears were ringing without any noise. Even Kurama was feeling unsettled in the back of his mind.

"That was too much, Ichi-nii," scolded Yuzu.

"But I didn't even push," protested Ichigo.

"Sorry, Kurosaki-san," said Sakura. "If you had tried to push back with that much chakra, I'd have needed days for my chakra coils to recover."

"Oh, my apologies," said Ichigo. "But what's wrong with Hatake-san?"

The not-really-there-spots finally dissipated. Kakashi was hunched over slightly with his visible eye closed tight. One arm braced him against the floor. The other was held up in a half-block between himself and Ichigo.

"Kakashi-sensei is sensitive to chakra—he can perceive it visually—and we weren't expecting that much," said Sakura. "He just needs a minute to adjust."

"Oh," said Ichigo. The guilty expression was back. Kakashi probably didn't want to see that on a civilian's face anyway.

Though, Naruto admitted, it was hard to look at Ichigo and see _just_ a civilian after that display. That was a pretty big chakra flare from a complete newbie, and he didn't even look winded. Naruto wondered exactly what kind of battle Ichigo had fought in.

A few moments later, Kakashi straightened up though he looked a little pale. "Well, if you want to be shinobi, Tsunade-sama probably won't say no."

"We're not as strong as Ichigo though," said Karin like it was a fact of life, which for them, it probably was.

"Most jutsu don't need power like that," said Yamato.

Sai and Sakura both nodded in agreement. Naruto didn't say anything. Most of _his_ jutsu required that much power at least. But an awkward silence was starting to settle back around the table with each person lost in their own thoughts.

"I think that I should probably get Kakashi-sensei home," said Sakura quietly. "He is getting old."

"Ouch," said Kakashi. "That hurt more than the chakra flare."

Yuzu jumped to her feet. "Let me fix you some curry to take home. I made lots."

She scurried back into the kitchenette as the shinobi started to tidy up their plates. Naruto was a bit disappointed. He wanted to talk to his cousins some more—he had a feeling they were going to be great—but he didn't know how to open up an avenue of conversation, and if Sakura was really taking Kakashi home, she would probably appreciate some company on the way.

"Naruto-san, if you have a moment, we have some things of our…grandfather's," Ichigo seemed to stumble over the word like it was as new to him as it was to Naruto, "that you might want to look at. It mostly seems to be books about sealing theory. But I'm not really familiar with that sort of thing."

"Oh?" Naruto _was_ interested. He was Konoha's sealing expert these days, even surpassing Kakashi-sensei's knowledge of the subject. "Are you going to be alright on your own, Sakura-chan?"

"I'm right here," said Kakashi.

"We can help her get the old man home," said Sai.

"You can't be too careful at your age, captain," added Yamato.

"Oi!" protested Kakashi.

After a quick dance of bowing and exits and Yuzu seeing all of his team loaded down with curry and daifuku to eat at home, Naruto was left alone in the apartment with the Kurosakis. Yuzu was washing the used dishes and making a new pot of tea. Karin had taken up the cushions and the low table and directed him to the taller table in the kitchenette before taking her own seat. Ichigo disappeared into one of the bedrooms and was bringing out stack after stack of scrolls and books.

"Where did you get all of these?" asked Naruto reaching for the closest one. He had seen their bags when they arrived. They had only had two apiece.

"They were inside some scrolls that were our grandfather's," said Ichigo. "I managed to get them out, but I haven't been able to put anything back. I had to stop trying or we would have run out of room."

"The original one you opened was a storage scroll," said Naruto eyeing the growing pile. The one he had grabbed was history scroll rather than a theory book, but it did mention several unfamiliar techniques. He set it aside for later. "It's the most basic type of seal and very easy to use."

"Not if you haven't heard of chakra," said Karin idly.

Naruto conceded the point. "It's just hard to imagine a place that doesn't know about chakra. I know you're not from the Elemental Countries, but everything has a little a bit of chakra in it."

There was a suspicious silence from the Kurosakis. Naruto looked up to catch the tail-end of a _look_ between the siblings. He had exchanged that sort of _look_ with Gaara and Killer B before, when someone said something about being jinchuuriki that was patently untrue. It was a look that said, _I can try to explain, but will you really understand?_

"Naruto-san, the hokage knows this because we told her, and because it's mentioned in the letter from Uzumaki Mamoru, but when we say we're not from the Elemental Countries, it means we're not from this world at all," said Ichigo.

Naruto felt his mental processes, few that they were, grind to a halt. He was staring. He couldn't help it. They were from where?

"You told me the other day that the only people you knew that weren't from the Elemental Countries were summons," said Yuzu. "You said that they were from different dimensions still connected to this world. Well, we are from a dimension even farther away than that, one that isn't connected to this world at all."

Naruto's brain was slowly engaging again. "But how did you get here?"

"It's more like, how did Uzumaki Mamoru get to our world?" suggested Ichigo. "After Uzu fell, he used some sort of seal developed by his clan to send himself to our world where he met our grandmother. He also developed a way to come back here, or back to Uzu anyway, which we used to get away from Soul Society."

Naruto considered the idea. It was theoretically possible for a seal to have that sort of ability. His father's signature technique, hiraishin, was based on manipulating space-time, so brief inter-dimensional travel was possible. But to travel such a distance would use a tremendous amount of chakra. Even Naruto would be wary of trying something like that. Then again, if it was an old seal passed down among the clan, maybe someone had streamlined the energy requirements, so that anyone with sufficient chakra could use it—sufficient by Uzumaki standards at least. He would ask to look at it later, if they had still had a copy. For now, he had other questions.

"These Soul Society guys, they're the ones you're seeking asylum from? How powerful are they, if you had to leave your whole world behind to escape?" asked Naruto.

Ichigo wouldn't meet his eyes. Naruto turned his gaze to Karin who had adopted her brother's usual scowl. Yuzu set a cup of tea in front of him and took the final seat.

"That's where things get complicated, Naruto-san," she said.

Naruto tried not to laugh. "You mean, they aren't complicated already?"

Yuzu's smile was a little sad. "We haven't even started talking politics yet."

Naruto paled at the thought. Inter-dimensional politics. Ugh.

"If the Elemental Countries are considered a World with satellite dimensions. Then we were born on the World called Earth, which has its own satellite dimensions. One of those satellite dimensions, the one most relevant to us, is called Soul Society," said Yuzu.

"You mean the people after you are from _another_ different dimension?" asked Naruto.

Karin snorted. "That's not what you should be focusing on. What matters is why it's called Soul Society."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Okay, why is it called Soul Society?"

"It's the afterlife," said Karin. "The place where souls live."

Naruto gaped, his mouth forming an "o" of disbelief even as his arms wavered from pointing in accusation to tearing out his hair in horror. "You're on the run from _heaven_?"

"Not heaven," said Ichigo sharply, suddenly reentering the conversation. "Heaven is a different dimension, and so is hell. This is just a waiting place where souls live until they're reborn in the world."

"It's a lot like living on Earth," said Yuzu. "Except you never go hungry unless you have lots of reiatsu, and you age twice as slow normal or even slower if you're really powerful. They even have a government and an army and everything."

"So you're on the run from the government of the afterlife," said Naruto slowly letting the idea sink. It was meeting solid resistance. "What did you do to deserve that?"

It was impossible to miss Ichigo's flinch, but he had returned to ignoring them. Rather than questioning the man, Naruto took a swallow of tea. It was delicious, even if the person who made it sounded insane.

"We're getting there," said Karin drily.

"Soul Society is split up into two parts," said Yuzu holding up her fingers. "One is rukongai, which is the area where most souls live, and the other is seireitei, the court of pure souls, where the nobility and the Court Guard live. The 13 Court Guard Divisions enforce the laws issued by the Central Chambers—the government—and also patrol rukongai and the Living World in order to help souls stuck on Earth move on and to fight off evil spirits. The Court Guard is made up of soul reapers or shinigami."

Blood drained from Naruto face. "Shinigami," he whispered. The creature that had stolen his father and the third hokage and whose existence changed Naruto's life forever. Without Shinigami to enforce the seal, there would be no jinchuuriki.

"Naruto-san, are you okay? Naruto? "

It was Yuzu's voice calling out to him, but Ichigo's was the warm hand on his shoulder that brought him back to reality. Naruto took a few deep breaths and gave his cousin the steadiest grin he could manage. It was almost a disappointment when Ichigo moved away again.

Naruto turned to Yuzu. "I'm okay. What was that about an army of shinigami?"

"The shinigami in Japan aren't like your Shinigami," said Karin. "They're just souls with strong reiatsu. Think of it like shinobi and civilians. They all have chakra, but only shinobi have enough chakra to fight with."

Naruto hadn't noticed the tension in his spine until it disappeared, but he was relieve the feeling of nausea in his stomach went with it. "That's good to hear. Reiatsu is sort of like chakra. Got it. And why are your shinigami important?"

"Our dad was one," said Karin.

Naruto let out a wail of dismay, ignoring the tiny smirk on Karin's face. "Your dad was a shinigami? He was a ghost? How does that even happen?"

"Daddy was born in Soul Society," said Yuzu. "That happens sometimes among the nobility and their retainers. Daddy was strong enough to captain one of the divisions. But one day, when he was chasing down a rogue spirit on Earth, he met mom, and she saved his life! He fell in love then and there, and he never went back. So romantic."

Yuzu fled temporarily into Lala-land. Naruto recognized the signs from his own days of dreaming of Sakura, and he had to admit that the story did sound romantic, but…

"How did your mother save your dad from an evil spirit?" asked Naruto. "She was a human, right? Uzumaki Mamoru didn't end up in Soul Society, did he?"

Karin gestured to the wall where the Kurosaki cross stood rigid between the swirling seals of the other two clans. "Mom was a Quincy. They were human mediums who could see ghosts and manipulate spirit particles in order to destroy evil spirits. Her mother, the woman Uzumaki Mamoru married, was also a Quincy. It's an inherited ability."

"Oh, like a kekkei genkai," said Naruto that much he could understand. "Like the byakugan or Yamato's wood-element. So that's how your mom could see your dad. But what was the problem with them getting married? I mean, if your dad is a spirit, I can see how that would be weird. But if everyone knew…"

Naruto trailed off. Karin was shaking her head.

"Shinigami and Quincy both fight Hollows—that's what evil spirits are called—but they do it differently. When a shinigami kills a Hollow, it cleanses the spirit and sends it on to Soul Society so it can eventually be reborn. When a Quincy kills a Hollow, the spirit is destroyed forever and can never be reborn."

"That's," Naruto began and quickly cut himself off. Horrible, he wanted to say. But the Kurosakis probably had a different opinion since they were Quincy themselves.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad," said Karin agreeing with his unvoiced thoughts. "The biggest problem was that Hollows try to eat souls with significant spiritual energy, so they attacked the Quincy, and the Quincy defended themselves and ended up destroying a bunch of souls. Eventually they destroyed so many souls that shinigami started to worry about the world coming undone, or something, so about two hundred years ago they eliminated all but a handful of Quincy families."

"Damn," said Naruto faintly. That sounded a lot like what happened in the Land of Water before Mei took over as Mizukage. Except he was pretty sure there wasn't a kekkei genkai with the power to destroy souls forever.

"Yeah, that's going to bite them in the butt," said Karin sounding pleased.

Naruto blinked in surprise. His current line of thought floundered. "What?"

"When we arrived here, Shinigami-sama said our Quincy powers wouldn't be a problem if we had to use them," explained Yuzu. "The specific people wouldn't be reborn, but the soul particles would form new souls."

"New births in Soul Society are already super-rare," added Karin. "But there are only two Quincy left on Earth now, and Uncle Ryuuken doesn't use his powers at all. The birth-rate is going to plummet in a few years."

Naruto wasn't quite sure what to think about that. He was very carefully steering his mind away from an image of Yuzu offering Shinigami tea. Instead he cast about for the point of all this new information.

"So, you're here because your dad married across battle lines?" he asked keeping an eye on Ichigo.

There was that flinch again, which meant there was probably more to it than that. Something that Ichigo had done specifically to set Soul Society on their heels. Karin and Yuzu were also watching Ichigo, and they both looked sad.

"That's part of it," said Yuzu. "But…"

"The exact circumstances are needlessly complex," said Karin. "But Ichi-nii ended up getting shinigami powers. The difference between living humans and souls is that living humans can change their circumstances whereas souls have defined limits. Ichi-nii got so powerful so fast that he was able to help the Court Guard stop a madman from claiming the throne of heaven. Then, a few years later, he did the same thing when this ancient Quincy from a thousand years ago tried to destroy all of Soul Society. Ichigo saved the world."

In his chair, Ichigo looked miserable. As someone credited with saving the world at least once, Naruto could relate. Protecting the village was all well and good, but the reputation and responsibility that came with that sort of title was not worth it.

"Politics," said Naruto. His heart sank as he realized the direction this was going.

"About two months ago, the Central Chambers decided that they didn't like having Ichigo running around on Earth. He's not dead, so he's not under their authority, even if he does have shinigami powers. So they issued a death warrant to resolve the problem," said Karin in a voice as sharp and cold as shattered ice.

"Once Ichi-nii was dead he would either lose his powers or be able to join the ranks. It was an ideal solution for them," added Yuzu.

"And this Court Guard you helped out, they were okay with that?" asked Naruto. Tsunade would refuse a request from the daimiyo to kill Naruto. Sasuke, Sakura, and whole bunch of other people would refuse if a similar order came from Tsunade herself. That's what being comrades was all about.

"The Captain-Commander refused the orders," said Ichigo bitterly. "No one from the Thirteen Divisions came after us."

"The Central Chambers anticipated their refusal," said Karin. "They went over the soutaichou's head and contacted Zero Division directly. Zero Division guards the royal family, and the Central 46 theoretically interprets the king's will in Soul Society. Zero Division had to go after Ichigo."

"The Central Chambers also issued secret orders to the Captain of the Twelfth Division, Kurotsuchi Mayuri. Once Ichigo was dead, Kurotsuchi was supposed to capture Ichigo's soul before it made the transition to Soul Society. If Kurotsuchi dissects Ichigo's soul, he can possibly replicate Ichi-nii's abilities in other shinigami," said Yuzu. "If Karin and I just so happened to die in the conflict, well, we have the same ancestry, so we might be useful for other sorts of experiments."

Naruto's blood was like ice in his veins. It was like Orochimaru all over again. Only worse because Orochimaru's experiments at least had a chance to die, but for Ichigo and his sisters, the real horror started after death. No wonder they had to leave. Anything would be better than that. Even an impossible leap across dimensions would be better than that.

His gaze slid to Ichigo whose black mood had only darkened since the start of the story. It was obvious that he blamed himself for his sisters' situation. He was also probably hurt by Soul Society's betrayal. Even if no one he knew had attacked him, to know they had received orders to that effect was almost as bad. Naruto had never had to deal with anything like that, but he knew Gaara had, and that it cut deep.

"Why did you tell me this?" asked Naruto. He was almost surprised that his voice didn't shake. "I never would have figured out any of that on my own."

"We wanted to see your reaction," said Yuzu simply. "This world is dangerous, and eventually one of us might have to fight." She meant Ichigo, probably. But she and Karin had Quincy powers too, and it was impossible to hide a kekkei genkai forever. Just look at what had happened to Haku. "The chance of meeting an Uzumaki is why we came to Konoha in the first place. But if you're going to reject us, it's better to know now rather than later."

Outrage drove Naruto to his feet. He slammed his hands on the table rattling cups and grabbing even Ichigo's attention.

"I wouldn't," declared Naruto. "I definitely wouldn't reject you for something like that. Konoha takes in everyone who wants to live. The stronger the better. That way we can protect what is most important to us. The Will of Fire means caring about others with all your strength, so we can be strong together. You will definitely be safe here. I promise."

He stared at the each of the Kurosakis willing them to understand. Karin looked relieved. Yuzu was smiling, the brightest smile she had worn all evening. Ichigo looked blank but not sad or wary, so that was a minor improvement.

"We appreciate it, Naruto-san," said Ichigo mildly.

Naruto opened his mouth in preparation for another speech, but Yuzu waved a hand to cut him off.

"We really do appreciate it, Naruto-san," she said. "Ichi-nii is direct like that."

Ichigo shot a scowl at Yuzu and nodded at Naruto in confirmation, but the future hokage couldn't leave it at that. He needed them to know.

"The day I was born, a demon attacked our village. It was the nine-tailed fox, Kurama, the most powerful of the bijuu, a force of destruction. It was impossible for any one person to fight something like that, and scores of shinobi died trying to defend Konoha. To stop it, the yondaime hokage sacrificed his life to seal the demon inside a baby. Me. For years, people in the village were afraid of me and hated me. They thought I _was_ the demon-fox and resented me for the death of their leader. They thought I would use Kurama's power to attack Konoha and finish the job.

"It was a long time before I made any friends or had anyone to care about, but eventually I had people to protect and comrades to fight at my side, and everything got better. I was even able to use Kurama's power to save the village and end the Fourth Shinobi War. My point is," Naruto looked at the Kurosakis, at his family, who were watching him with rapt amazement, and felt his heart swell, "my point is that I know what it's liked to be feared because you're strong, and I won't do that to you. I might be afraid for you, but I will never be afraid of you."

Naruto blushed and quickly sat down. It had been a long time since he had had to tell anyone about Kurama, and he was leaving out a bunch of the story, but if Karin, Yuzu, and Ichigo were being honest with him, he felt the need to be the same, especially since their stories were so similar in that most important regard.

"That's amazing, Naruto-san. You must have been very brave," said Yuzu gently.

Well that was a good sign in Naruto's opinion.

"I was wondering what that was," said Ichigo thoughtfully.

Naruto blinked. "What was what?"

"The demon fox, it's made out of spiritual energy and chakra, right?" asked Ichigo.

"Well, Kurama is friendly now, so I don't think of him as a demon fox anymore," said Naruto quickly. "But yes, he doesn't have a body of his own."

"We can sense spiritual energy," said Karin. "We could sense Kurama for almost a day before we saw the gates. Even Yuzu noticed."

Yuzu pouted at her twin but turned sheepish eyes on Naruto. "Kurama-san is sort of hard to ignore."

"And we were wondering why you had two densities to your spiritual pressure when we first saw you in the hokage's office," added Ichigo. "It makes a lot more sense now."

Naruto stared. The Kurosakis stared back. They were saying that they could sense Kurama inside of him, even before he had explained? And they hadn't run away screaming?

"Eh?!"

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It's the chapter that wouldn't stop growing, but I just couldn't go any further.

Now you know what happened to drive the Kurosaki family out of Karakura and off of Earth entirely, and why Ichigo has been so much gloomier than usual.

The reason that Yuzu, Karin, and Ichigo's explanation of their circumstances is so long when Naruto's is so short is because they have to justify all of their backstory in order to avoid sounding crazy and because they really want to gauge Naruto's reaction. Naruto is just trying to show that he can understand what it's like to be feared and not give up because of rejection. Also, if the Kurosakis are dubious about a giant demon fox—they aren't; they believe him about the fox—then they can ask just about anyone and receive independent confirmation. Naruto doesn't have that option. He can only ask the Kurosakis and Kon—who he hasn't met yet—and Tsunade, who has the letter and journal Uzumaki Mamoru wrote. Luckily, Naruto searches for the good in people.

Next time there will be a little more action. Unfortunately, it will take a little longer to get here.

Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

Soul of Fire

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_Fear._

Ichigo was angry. But more than that, he was afraid. He was running. He had to escape the dark shadow chasing him. It was a monster he could not fight.

Old Goat-Face had a key, the key to a door that would open one way and lock behind them, except he wasn't Goat-Face right now. Now he was Dad, Father, Kurosaki Isshin, Doctor, Shiba Isshin, Captain of Tenth Division, and more serious than Ichigo had seen since Aizen. _Don't think about him trapped in the bowels of First. That will_ never _be your fate._

Yuzu and Karin were pressed tight against each other and against him. Any other time and the effect would be suffocating, now he could only try to draw them closer.

A door opened. _The Wrong Door._ The way back. A way he could never go again.

Warriors poured out of the door and onto the hill in a never-ending tide. How appropriate that they were in a cemetery, but all these graves were taken already. He itched to draw Zangetsu, to add his blood to the fray.

A flash of violet. _"Run, you fool!"_ Then so much _red_. Too much, from such a tiny body.

Wordless rage. Soul-rending agony roared into the night sky. Swallowed. Consumed. Lost in a stormy vortex.

Ichigo saw Darkness. Then Light. Then Nothing.

When the Nothing receded, Ichigo was lying on a hard, flat surface. He could feel nothing for miles. Not a hint of a soul. Not a trace of spiritual pressure. Even Zangetsu's power, familiar and welcome as his own heartbeat, had disappeared. But Ichigo was still alive, and he had suffered this pain before. He _would_ survive.

Ichigo opened his eyes. And screamed.

A clown-like face was hovering just above his own, mumbling statistics and figures, and grinning with pleasure. Ichigo found the strength to turn his face away.

To his right, there was dark hair and blood and silence. He jerked his head in the opposite direction.

A light brown eye stared back accusingly. Just an eye.

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Ichigo woke with a gasp in an unfamiliar room. He sat up quickly looking for something to orient himself by, something that would indicate where he was. The door creaked open. Ichigo whipped his head around then down. There was Kon peering in from the hall. His soft cotton face twisted with worry.

It all came rushing back then. Ichigo was in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. In the new apartment he shared with his sisters and Kon. And they were all well away from Soul Society and Kurotsuchi Mayuri's torture chambers.

"Ichigo?" asked Kon softly.

"Did I scream?" asked Ichigo and he meant, did I wake my sisters with this nightmare?

Except it wasn't _all_ a nightmare. The panicked flight had been real. The door and cemetery had been real. Rukia had been real. She had told him go, when he would have stayed to fight and lost. And then she had fallen in a spray of blood, and the seal to transport Ichigo and his sisters had activated before he could see her rise again. She had to be alive. She couldn't have died for his sake. He would believe she had survived. It was the only way he could move forward.

"You never scream," said Kon.

But Ichigo _had_ screamed. Night after night following Aizen's defeat he had woken his family with his cries. Terrified his sisters to death. Witnessed the sorrow and shame in his father's eyes. The memories of the short and bloody conflict played in his mind over and over again until eventually he had trained himself not to cry out in his sleep. Kon had simply missed those weeks stuck as he was in Soul Society. And when the conflict with ancient Quincy haunted his dreams, Ichigo had quickly regained his skill at sleeping soundlessly.

He would not be sleeping any more tonight. He was certain of that much. After a moment's hesitation, Ichigo got out of bed and picked his way over to his closet to change into street clothes. He finally had the floor of his room back after Naruto showed Yuzu and Karin how to seal objects into a storage scroll. He had cautioned Ichigo against trying for the time being because while Naruto had never heard of someone overloading a storage scroll, that did not mean it was impossible. Ichigo hadn't been offended, whatever Naruto had feared would happen, the former substitute had had kidou blow up in face before, sometimes literally. Ichigo didn't need to learn how to use his chakra anyway. He was a civilian now.

"What are you doing, Ichigo?" asked Kon nervously.

"I'm going out," said Ichigo.

"But it's three o'clock in the morning," protested Kon.

Ichigo didn't care. The terror of the nightmare was fading, but his adrenaline was still soaring. He could not wait out the rest of the night in that unfamiliar room. He brushed past Kon and shot down the hall, barely noticing the extra weight as the mod-soul jumped to his shoulder.

"Those guys watching the apartment won't like it," warned Kon.

"There _are_ two of them. One can follow me and the other can stay here," said Ichigo carelessly.

"You know that's not what I meant!" grumbled Kon.

Ichigo paused briefly at the door to the apartment so he could grab his bokken. The tattered remains of the protective ward still hung gamely to the door. When active, the spiritual pressure of any unlawful invader would rebound against the trespasser, effectively taking them out with their own power. In this case, an unlawful invader was someone without an appropriate counter-ward. Most shinobi had enough reiatsu to receive a bad shock. Naruto _might_ have survived the rebound from the fox's spiritual pressure, but Ichigo was happy to avoid finding out. He had never been so grateful for thin walls in his life. Hearing Naruto complain about door had reminded Ichigo to take down the ward just in time. He had only recently learned how to make them from Kukaku.

Since the end of the Quincy affair, Kukaku had taken it upon herself to teach Ichigo how to make wards, protective amulets, kidou, fireworks, and just about everything else a scion of House Shiba needed to know. Old Goat-Face's protests had been overridden in a flurry of swearing and explosions, so Ichigo spent a month each summer and every other weekend in Soul Society. Most of them time, he was studying with Kukaku, but sometimes he visited—was dragged to—one division or another to learn from the captains and vice-captains. Apparently, someone had decided that Ichigo needed to learn all the tools and trick and details of being a shinigami that he had never had time for before. But that time was over now.

Ichigo secured his bokken at his side and walked into the early morning air. Konoha at night was not quite as busy as Karakura thanks to a slightly smaller population, but all of the people out-and-about at this hour were much more dangerous than the ones back home. Ichigo couldn't bear to be around anyone else, not yet, and headed away from the busier city-center toward the wall.

After a sizeable amount of time wandering through nearly-empty streets, Ichigo found an open, grassy area surrounded by trees. It was one of the many training grounds scattered throughout Konoha. He cautiously poked around the area looking for still-loaded traps but failed to find any. Deciding he was safe enough, he set Kon carefully at the base of a tree—they were still pretending the doll was just a doll for the sake of their watcher—then moved to assume the first stance of a by now familiar kata.

The weight and shape of the bokken were completely wrong, but the handle of the wooden sword had been carefully shaped into an exact replica of Zangetsu's sealed form, which he had finally learned how to do after the mocking from _everyone_ he knew became too much. Urahara had made weapon specifically for Ichigo to use as focusing tool. When Ichigo reinforced the bokken with his spiritual energy, it became nigh unbreakable. Isshin had used the opportunity to drag Ichigo to Urahara's underground lair and finally teach him kenjutsu. They had also worked together to craft a kata for Ichigo's sealed zanpaktou, which was virtually identical to Zangetsu's original shikai. It had been a rare opportunity for the Kurosaki men to bond and had turned out reasonably well with only minimal tears on Isshin's part and embarrassment for Ichigo. Of course, Isshin had been no help at all with Ichigo's double-bladed shikai. He had to go to Soul Society and study with Shunsui and Ukitake for that.

Ichigo lost himself in the swings and blocks. Just barely remembering to avoid jumping too high or moving too fast. When he was practicing, he didn't need to think. Right now, he had a lot he refused to think about. He didn't stop until he felt someone else move into the clearing, someone other than his hidden guard. He looked at the newcomer and then looked again. The shinobi was wearing a skin-tight green something. He had other remarkably unusual features like a bowl-cut hairstyle, caterpillar eyebrows, and perfectly round eyes, but it was hard to notice those details with all that green drawing the eye.

The shinobi flashed him a thumbs-up. "Greetings, friend. There is no need to stop on my account. I am most surprised and inspired by your commitment to train. It is most youthful. I am Rock Lee. And you are?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo," he replied in a daze.

Lee nodding sagely. "Ah, Naruto's cousin. He has been most enthusiastic about your arrival. He did not say you were from the Land of Iron."

Ichigo scowled and rolled his eyes. It wasn't like samurai were the only people that used swords in the Elemental Countries. "I'm not. I can go somewhere else if you were going to train here."

"Ah, my team will be meeting here but not for another two hours," said Lee. He gave Ichigo a hopeful smile. "If you are not busy, would you like to spar? It is always good to practice against new people."

Ichigo rallied his thoughts and considered the invitation. He had only fought a group of bandits since entering this world. While he had no illusions about being a ninja, he would hate to lose his hard-earned skills to disuse. A friendly spar might be helpful, and Ichigo still had energy to burn.

"I can't do any of that ninjutsu stuff," said Ichigo cautiously.

Lee brightened visibly. "That is most excellent. I myself am a taijutsu specialist."

Ichigo and Lee squared off across the field. Ichigo waited for Lee to produce a weapon but realized quickly that, considering the revealing nature of Lee's outfit, there was no place for the other man to carry one. Lee didn't seem to be bothered at all and with a shout launched himself at Ichigo.

Ichigo dodged the first blow and parried the follow up. His own swing at Lee's chest was blocked by a kick so strong it jarred Ichigo's shoulder. He automatically channeled his reiastu into the bokken to compensate. He easily dodged around another kick and swung at Lee's side. A bone-breaking hit, if he connected. Ichigo hesitated, dropping his reiatsu out of the bokken and unconsciously loosening his grip. Lee's block knocked the weapon out of his hands. They both stopped.

"Is there a problem, Kurosaki-san?" asked Lee.

Ichigo flushed with embarrassment. "I'm not used to fighting unarmed opponents." Hollows didn't count. They might not carry swords, but they still had plenty of weapons.

"That is kind of you, Kurosaki-san, but do not worry," proclaimed Lee. "I am a chunin of Konoha and most proficient at defense. My teammate, Tenten, works almost exclusively with edged weapons, and I have yet to gain a serious wound from our bouts."

Ichigo bowed slightly. "Of course. I didn't mean to offend you."

"I am not offended," Lee hastened to reassure him. "Do you wish to continue?"

Ichigo did. He retrieved his bokken and returned to his starting stance. Lee beamed and readied himself for another bout. This time Ichigo wouldn't worry about hitting Lee, but he would also be careful to keep tight rein on his spiritual power.

Punch. Punch. Kick. The first few steps were the same, but this time Ichigo pushed back into Lee's kick, knocking him off balance and opening the shinobi to a frontal assault. He scored a hit on Lee's flank, but the shinobi blocked the follow-up strike, and dodged under the swing. Ichigo immediately shifted down his angle of attack, but Lee was faster than he anticipated. The shinobi got inside his reach and aimed a solid jab at Ichigo's chest. Ichigo flung himself back as quickly as he could and still caught the edge of the blow. Lee's face was comical in its surprise. Clearly, he hadn't expected Ichigo to be able to move so fast. Ichigo quickly took advantage, instantaneously reversing direction and thrusting with the bokken until the tip rested at the edge of Lee's throat, a killing strike, if Ichigo had followed through.

Lee was unperturbed. In fact, he looked delighted. "Most excellent. I see you are most skilled. Shall we try again?"

"Sounds good," said Ichigo.

They squared off again, and as before, Lee attacked first. This time the shinobi was much, much faster. The blows came quick and hard. Ichigo barely had time to block, much less time to attack. His break came when Lee delivered a powerful jumping kick and both his feet left the ground. Ichigo absorbed the blow as best he was able and pushed back before Lee could disconnect from the bokken. Lee went flying across the clearing and had to take a second to recover his stance. Ichigo rushed to take a strike, but this time Lee was faster than he expected. The shinobi disappeared from sight, but Ichigo felt the rush of air as Lee reappeared at his back. Quickly sliding his hand along the bokken's hilt, Ichigo pivoted on one foot brought the butt of the weapon to bear at Lee's head. Lee dodged back and away, but that hardly discouraged Ichigo. The bokken's hilt was a perfect replica of Zangetsu's down to the cloth wrapping. He let the tail slide through his fingers and giving the bokken an extra spin for momentum flung it at Lee.

Lee jumped straight into the air, easily clearing the oncoming weapon, and letting it soar into the tree line. Ichigo could have held on to cloth wrapping were he actually using Zangetsu and called his zanpaktou back, but this worked just as well for his current purposes. Lee had to come back down, and this time Ichigo was waiting with a fist of his own. Lee blocked the hit, of course, but seemed happy to play along.

"So you are also a student of unarmed combat," said Lee as they exchanged blows.

"Sometimes," admitted Ichigo. He missed the feel of Chad at his back taking out bullies and gang-bangers, who were just begging to pay hospital fees. This was more like sparring with Tatsuki or, more realistically, like fight Yoruichi or Soi Fon. Yoruichi was more than happy to beat Ichigo into improving his flash-step. Soi Fon mostly just wanted to fight him because Yoruichi did. But both women were the best hand-to-hand specialists he had ever seen. He lost to them every time, but each failure took a little a longer and taught him a little more.

Ichigo was on the ground before he realized it. Lee had flipped him in a moment of distraction.

"Are you alright?" asked Lee.

"I'm fine," said Ichigo rising to his feet. "Do you want to go again?"

Lee gave him a considering look, trying to gauge if Ichigo was really okay. Ichigo wasn't Chad, who at fifteen could take an I-beam to the back and walk away mostly fine, but a little tumble wouldn't slow him down.

Lee apparently agreed. "Do you wish to retrieve your weapon?"

"I'm okay like this, if that's alright," said Ichigo. "I need to practice my hand-to-hand anyway."

Lee was good, really good. If Ichigo used the bokken again, he didn't think he could avoid using his reiatsu. This was much better for his conscience, even if it meant he'd be getting his butt handed to him on a silver platter.

"Yosh," said Lee. "Working to improve one's weaknesses is most youthful. Let us continue."

This bout was going a little better. Ichigo had hiked his speed to match Lee's and was using some of Yoruichi's more devious tricks. Lee, of course, was better and slowly moving faster forcing Ichigo to work harder. But he seemed to be enjoying himself all the same, and they had both managed several solid hits. Ichigo was going to lose soon, but it was going to be the good kind of loss.

"Lee, what are you doing?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

Ichigo and his opponent both fell out of rhythm. Three more people had entered the clearing unnoticed by Ichigo. The one who had spoken was a girl wearing a distinctly Chinese-looking white shirt and an excess of weapons. She was standing with both hands on her hips and looked faintly exasperated. The other two were both men. One was significantly older and looked a lot like Lee down to the unusual uniform. The third was familiar, even though Ichigo had never seen his face before. He was the watcher who had followed him this morning. He also had pure white eyes like the woman who had directed him through the market yesterday. Ichigo assumed he was a relation.

"Gai-sensei, Tenten, Neji," exclaimed Lee. "Is it six already?"

Ichigo glanced up and checked the position of the stars. His watch was too different for him to carry in public, but he would guess 06:00h or maybe a little later.

"Who is this?" asked Tenten.

"This is Kurosaki Ichigo. I found him here when I arrived for my morning training. He graciously agreed to spar with me," explained Lee.

"Naruto's cousin, right?" asked Tenten. "He's been a bundle of nerves all week."

Ichigo felt bad about that. He really did. If Naruto had been nervous before they met, he had to be freaking out now with everything Ichigo and his sisters had dumped on him. It did explain the odd hair comment at dinner though.

"That's right," said Ichigo when he realized they were expecting some response. He glanced at Lee. "I guess I had better get going."

"You are most welcome to join us for our morning training, should you so desire," said Gai. "Your spar with Lee was full of the vigor of youth."

A feeling of horrified awe blossomed in Ichigo's chest. There were two of them. Who knew how many more there were? He glanced at the other shinobi. Tenten was hiding a smile. Neji looked resigned.

"Thank you, but I should probably get back before my sisters start to worry," said Ichigo quickly.

"Another time, perhaps," said Gai brightly.

"Sure," agreed Ichigo as he slowly edged away.

Kon wasn't too far away. Ichigo scooped up the lion-doll and looked around.

"Have you seen…?"

He trailed off. Neji's head was tilted ever so slightly. Ichigo followed his gaze. There was the bokken a full third of the blade buried in nearby tree. Ichigo had thought it was further away than that. He must have gotten turned around in the fight.

"Thanks, Neji-san," said Ichigo.

A swift tug freed the bokken. Ichigo gave it a quick once-over. There didn't seem to be any damage, but he would have to clean it once he got back to the apartment. When he turned back around, Lee and Tenten were staring at the tree in awe; Gai looked thoughtful; and Neji was unsurprisingly blank-faced.

"Thanks for the spar, Lee-san," said Ichigo trying not to draw anymore unnecessary attention as he started to walk away.

Lee gave him another thumbs-up and a grin. "We should test our skills again sometime."

"Sure," said Ichigo. "I guess I know where to find you. You can get my address for Neji-san or Naruto."

After a few more excited exchanges from Lee, Ichigo finally got away. He had enjoyed their fight and would definitely want to try again, later. He was still tired from the late night with Naruto and the nightmare this morning. Not to mention, he hadn't trained his human body near as much as his spiritual one, and above average endurance could only take a person so far. And he wasn't kidding about his sisters being worried. They would definitely have noticed he was missing by now. At least, he could distract them with the crazy shinobi in green.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Naruto was at the Hokage Tower at first light. He had tossed and turned all night thinking about he had learned. He needed to talk someone about it, but he couldn't invade Tsunade's home in the middle of night for something like this. Once he got to the tower, he still had to wait for her to show up. It was agony. When she finally arrived, she took one look at his face and went straight for the sake.

"Why didn't you tell me?" wailed Naruto.

Tsunade poured out two saucers. Normally Naruto would object to drinking this early in the day, but even if _he_ couldn't get drunk, he could understand why Tsunade would want it. She sat in her chair and pushed his saucer across the desk. Naruto balanced the delicate porcelain on his fingertips but didn't drink, not yet.

"I wanted to get your honest reaction," said Tsunade.

Naruto felt glum. "That's what they said too. But you're hokage, why wait for me to decide."

Tsunade gave him a look. "I'm hokage now. But we both know you'll be the one wearing the hat in a year or two, brat. If you think we can risk having them here, then I'm willing to along with it. But's your decision, Naruto."

Naruto frowned. Applying a touch of chakra to his sake, he gently shaped into a familiar spiral pattern as he worked through the implications. "I don't think there's much of a risk. Ichigo said they used an Uzumaki transportation seal to make the jump and that no one there knows about chakra. No one should come after them."

"But will they be able to fit in here?" asked Tsunade. "They're from a completely different world with powers and abilities we don't understand."

"They're not that different," said Naruto firmly. "They're people just like us. Being a Quincy is basically like having a kekkei genkai. And Karin, she's super interested in medical jutsu. She picked Sakura's brain last night. Kakashi-sensei said Yuzu could probably find a place in T&I, even though I think he was just joking. And Ichigo, well, he's not doing so great right now, but he just needs people he can believe in again. Konoha's the perfect place for that."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "It sounds like you've already made up your mind."

Naruto blinked furiously. "Huh, I guess you're right." He downed his sake in a single gulp and set the saucer down with a click. "But can you believe that? What happened to Ichigo, I mean?"

"Oh?" Tsunade sounded interested. "How much did they tell you?"

"A lot," said Naruto. "Not everything, obviously. But still a lot. Why?"

"I have a document prepared by Uzumaki Mamoru that describes the abilities of the Quincy and the situation between his wife's family and the shinigami of that world," said Tsunade. "Karin implied that Soul Society was pursuing them because of the potential abilities found in a combination of the two lines, and they fled to escape forcible recruitment or death."

"That's it?" asked Naruto. "That's all they said?"

Tsunade nodded more to herself than Naruto. "I assumed there was more to the story, but I thought I could leave it to you to push for more."

Naruto held his head in his hands. "Oh, it's so much worse than that. They said Ichigo bailed out Soul Society more than once, and that all three of them were practically promised to their world's version of Orochimaru and that's _after_ they die."

"Oh," said Tsunade faintly. Even now, years after his final death, Orochimaru's name filled her with conflicting feelings. Everyone in the village thought of the monster, she was the only one now who remembered the promising genin. It was thoughts like these that told her it was time to retire, but Naruto, for all his enthusiasm, wasn't quite ready. With his new family in the mix, she could wait a little while to pass on the position.

She managed to put those thoughts aside and focused on the implications. It made her groan and reached for the sake. "They really did deliberately antagonize a powerful ally? No wonder they needed a teenager to help them out. It's one of the worst tactical decisions I've ever heard."

"I know, right?" said Naruto emphatically. "It's just so…stupid."

Naruto sighed his thoughts turning back to his own childhood. He certainly hadn't been an ally of Konoha back then, even if he had been a citizen. The only person he would have claimed as family was Sandaime Hokage. He could have turned out so much worse. He could have been like Gaara at their first meeting, killing anyone who stepped in his way to justify his right to exist.

Naruto wasn't sure how powerful Ichigo really was. Vague stories and a single burst of chakra weren't much to go on, but he had saved the world. Twice. So in all likelihood, he was pretty strong. If Ichigo hadn't been able to leave his world and come to the Elemental Countries, would he have fought against Soul Society? Would he have taken the power he gained to protect and used it to destroy? What would Naruto do, if Konoha turned on him? As a child, he would have fought and killed and driven himself mad in the effort. Now, he just didn't know. It was impossible to imagine.

A soft knock on the door preceded Shizune's entrance into the office. At the sight of the two morose blondes, she started to worry. At the sight of the bottle of sake, the worry turned to outrage.

"What are you doing drinking this early in the morning?" she demanded stalking over to the hokage's desk and snatching up the bottle.

The sudden killing intent snapped Naruto and Tsunade out of their respective funks.

"She started it," said Naruto pointing a finger.

"Of that I have no doubt," snarled Shizune. "But you're not supposed to encourage her."

Tsunade stiffened indignantly in her chair. "I am the hokage you know. I am more than capable of deciding when I can and cannot drink." She ignored the scoffs from her successor and her apprentice out of pride. "What are you doing in here anyway?"

"Team Gai is waiting outside," said Shizune as tucked the bottle back in its drawer. "You said you wanted reports of any significant interaction with the Kurosakis. So they're here, reporting."

"Baa-chan!" protested Naruto.

Tsunade waved a hand dismissively. "It's not official, and I trust your instincts, Naruto. But I'm not likely to run into them any time soon, and I need to get a feel for them somehow. Send them in, Shizune."

Team Gai wasn't a permanent team any more than Team Kakashi, but Gai, Lee, Tenten, and Neji continued to train together almost daily even as the former genin were promoted and joined different divisions. Everyone in the village thought of them as Team Gai and probably would do so long after Gai retired from active service. Fortunately none of them, not even Neji, seemed to mind.

When Team Gai appeared, it was obvious they had just come from their early morning practice. All of them were bright-eyed with adrenaline and more than a little gross with sweat and dirt. There wasn't any blood though, so Tsunade wasn't back to send them back out. She acknowledge their salutes and ignored Naruto's cheerful wave.

"So, what can you tell me?" asked Tsunade.

Lee stepped forward. "This morning, I arrived at the training grounds at the usual hour to find them already occupied by Kurosaki Ichigo. He was by himself practicing katas with his bokken. He stopped when I approached and I introduced myself and offered to spar. Kurosaki agreed to a bout."

"You did?" asked Naruto in disbelief. "He did? Oh man."

"Shush, brat," said Tsunade. "Keep going Lee."

"I won our initial spar quite handily, and Kurosaki professed a lack of experience fighting unarmed opponents. After assuring him of my skill, we reengaged with renewed vigor, and Ichigo succeed in striking a winning blow. In the following bout, Ichigo showed increased interest in fighting but abandoned his weapon half-way through in favor of hand-to-hand combat after which I achieved victory. Our final bout was also hand-to-hand. The results were inconclusive as we were interrupted before we could finish, but it is likely that I would have won again," summarized Lee with only a hint of his usual flamboyance.

Tsunade glanced at Naruto, who had turned pale and despairing in his seat. Introduction to shinobi life via Lee was probably not the best way to convince anyone to live in Konoha. Still, there were worse people Ichigo could have met. Anko, for one. Kakashi, without the threat of death-by-Sakura-punch if he cracked open his porn at the table. Sasuke's merry band of maniacs. Lee was practically tame in comparison.

"And your assessment of his skills?" asked Tsunade.

"I would rank Kurosaki at mid-to-high chunin level for his skill in unarmed combat. He used a style that mixed formal instruction with street brawling to achieve optimum efficacy. In our final bout, he demonstrated a handful of extremely advanced holds and throws. Kurosaki expressed unfamiliarity with chakra at the start of our match, but he demonstrated speed and stamina that surpassed normal limits, leading me to believe he may use chakra unconsciously to augment his natural abilities.

"Unfortunately, I was unable to properly assess his abilities with a sword as he was extremely uncomfortable using it against me when I was unarmed. I did notice that the weight of the weapon did not appear to hinder his movements in the least. And, he was surprisingly accurate when throwing the bokken, which, as I understand it, is not a typical move in kenjutsu," concluded Lee.

"He threw his bokken at you? On purpose?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, it was a most unusual move," said Lee. "I was fortunate to move rather than attempt try to block, otherwise I may have been skewered."

Tsunade blinked. "What?"

"Kurosaki's weapon impaled one of the larger trees surrounding the training grounds," explained Neji. "It certainly would have been a fatal blow if it had landed."

Naruto let out a garbled sound of dismay, but Tsunade frowned furiously. "Was it deliberate?"

Gai cleared his throat. "After observing the end of the fight, I suspect that Kurosaki was able evaluate Lee's abilities and adjust accordingly. He used a lethal attack in an otherwise simple bout because he knew Lee could handle it. It is a common enough practice among shinobi but not behavior normally seen in civilians. I did invite Kurosaki to join our morning practices in order to avoid such occurrences in the future. He said he would consider it."

Tenten exchanged a significant glance with Neji behind their sensei's back.

"I think he might have said yes just so you would let him leave, Gai-sensei," said Tenten cautiously.

Gai and Lee both looked dismayed. A heavy gloom settled over the jounin while tears poured down Lee's face.

"But it was a most youthful test of skill and technique against an unfamiliar opponent," said Lee. "I will be most disappointed if we cannot have a rematch."

"I'll let him know you want to spar again sometime," said Naruto quickly. The only thing more horrifying than Lee empowered by the flames of youth was a despondent Lee, and Gai would only make things worse.

"Thank you, Naruto," said Lee recovering instantly.

Neji cut-in before Lee could begin reciting Naruto's praises. "That was another thing, hokage-sama. Kurosaki knew that _I_ knew where he lived."

Neji was one of several ANBU assigned to run surveillance on the Kurosakis. Tsunade had assigned as many of Naruto's friends as she could to the job because she knew they would be extra attentive at an otherwise mundane task. Tsunade couldn't imagine how Ichigo had recognized Neji. It took a considerable amount of talent to even find an ANBU operative when they wanted to remain unseen. He would then have to connect the appropriate mask to the appropriate person, which was difficult for most of the regular forces, much less a newcomer who knew absolutely no one. How was it even possible?

"Oh! He probably sensed your reiatsu," said Naruto.

Neji hesitated. "He sensed…what?"

"Reiatsu," said Naruto. "It's a bit like chakra. I think. That part was sort of confusing. But they said they could feel Kurama all the way on the other side of the wall. So maybe they can do the same for people? But, uh-oh, that would mean, if they noticed Neji, they've probably noticed _all_ the ANBU watching them."

Everyone in the office rolled their eyes at that outburst. It wasn't as if Team Gai didn't know Neji was part of ANBU, but they weren't supposed to draw attention to it. Naruto noticed that much, at least, gave them a sheepish grin, and mouthed 'sorry' at Tsunade.

"You can ask him about it if you want, brat, but we're not dropping the surveillance anytime soon," said Tsunade. She turned to Team Gai. "Did you have anything else to report?"

A series of silent exchanges passed among the group of taijutsu specialists. Surely they had observed a hundred more details about Kurosaki Ichigo, but only a handful would be worth mentioning.

"Kurosaki had a toy with him," said Tenten. "A little lion doll. I thought that was strange."

Naruto's expression was a dead give-away that something was important about the doll. He had forgotten about it in the anxiety filled days leading up to dinner with his cousins. He hadn't seen it in the apartment that night. And it certainly hadn't come up during the conversation afterwards. But a doll with a soul inside of it made so much more sense with context.

"Did it move?" asked Tsunade.

"No," said Tenten. "Not that I noticed."

Neji, Lee, and Gai all shook their heads. No, the doll had just been a doll.

"Hmm, too bad," said Tsunade. "Anything else? No? Then you are dismissed."

Team Gai bowed and filed out of the office, and Tsunade returned her attention to Naruto. He was staring at the door, a thousand thoughts flickering through his mind and across his face. It was a lot of new information, and it was information they knew was true. The ability to fight Lee in hand-to-hand combat was no small thing. Neither was the ability to pick Neji blind out of a line-up. Tsunade had already promised to go along with whatever Naruto decided, and she certainly couldn't take it back now. She hoped he wouldn't be disappointed.

"Unless you're going to help with the paperwork, get out of my office," said Tsunade. "Go work on a seal or pester your cousins or something."

Naruto shook his head. "No. We all agreed we need time to think. I'm going to head over to the Academy."

"It's in session right now," said Tsunade. "Umino will yell at you if you rile-up the students before lunch."

Naruto grinned. "That's okay. I want to see where they are in the curriculum. If Karin and Yuzu decide they really do want to join the ranks, then somebody will need to teach them, and Iruka-sensei is the best."

"You want to put them in a class with twelve-year-olds?" asked Tsunade. "Isn't that a little cruel?"

"Well, maybe," said Naruto. He loved playing with kids. They thought being a shinobi was the best thing in the world. "But Iruka-sensei may have some other ideas. I'll let you know how it goes. Later, baa-chan!"

"Don't call me that!" roared Tsunade.

Laughing, Naruto jumped out of the window. The day was looking up already.

-0-0-0-0-0-

-0-0-0-0-0-

Action sequences! Harder to write than they are to watch, and no sparkly ninjutsu or kidou just yet. But there will be. Someday.

So, Neji was definitely alive when I conceived this story, and then by the time I started writing he had been dead for a while, but I really needed him alive. So either he was permanently revived by somebody at the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, or his wounds were serious but ultimately treatable. You may choose which ever option suits you best.

In case you have pressing questions about the ages of the characters, for the purposes of this story Ichigo and Naruto were born the same year, and Ichigo had just completed his first year of graduate school before this mess happened. So it's been almost a decade since the Fourth Shinobi War and about five years since the 1000 Years of Blood arc assuming neither of those stretched too long. Theoretically, both characters would have plenty of time to learn control and new techniques.

Thanks for reading. I appreciate your feedback.


	4. Chapter 4

Soul of Fire

-0-0-0-0-0-

Sakura scanned through the test results and smiled reassuringly at the young woman on the other side of the desk. Karin looked ambivalent on the surface. Her face was calm and her posture relaxed, but she sat a little too carefully in her chair and her pulse was racing. Sakura had happily agreed to evaluate the girl at Naruto's request. She had been very impressed by Karin's grasp of hospital procedure at the get-together a few days before. Now that the Kurosakis would be staying in Konoha, thanks largely in part to Naruto's encouragement, Sakura was more than willing to sponsor the girl.

"Your results are very good," said Sakura. "You have an excellent grasp of anatomy, except for the chakra system, but we can work on that." She looked at the notes from the practical exam. "Your skill in field dressings, triage, and patient prep are at a professional level already. But I wasn't familiar with some of the medicines you mentioned, should I assume those are from your homeland?"

Karin nodded. "I can write out the chemical composition for most of them, if you want."

Sakura's interest jumped to another level. Plenty of shinobi made use of poisonous plants, venomous animals, and similar ingredients, but the exact chemical components of poisons and medicines was generally something only medic-nin studied. If Karin had already started learning that sort of thing, then she was seriously committed to the craft.

"Another time," said Sakura. She flipped to a clean sheet of paper and readied her pen. "What is your previous experience in the medical field?"

Karin straightened in her chair. "Our family ran a clinic back in Karakura, and I've helped out there since I was small. We treated mostly minor injuries: cuts, sprains, simple breaks, minor illness, and physical check-ups. We also stabilized more serious injuries before patients were moved to a larger hospital. I entered school on a pre-med track and have taken Human Anatomy, standard Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and standard Biology. I interned at Karakura Hospital for the past two summers. And I…" She faltered briefly, a dark shadow flickering over her face before disappearing again. "I learned some techniques in Soul Society that I was able to adapt for regular use. Those are a bit like medical jutsu."

"Naruto said that Soul Society was your father's homeland?" prompted Sakura.

The blonde had discussed a little bit of his cousins' situation with her. From what Sakura understood, Karin's parents had married across battle lines during peacetime, but tension had recently resumed between the two groups. The Kurosakis had fled to avoid the more powerful organization that was Soul Society. It would explain her negative outlook about the skills she learned there.

At Karin's hesitant nod, Sakura continued, "What do you mean by adapting their techniques?"

Karin crossed her arms and scowled as she considered her answer. Sakura had only seen Ichigo in passing, more frequently since the dinner last week, but with the frown in place, she could definitely see the resemblance between the two.

"Soul Society's techniques usually only work on people from Soul Society," said Karin at last. "I had to change them a bit to get them to work on everyone else."

Sakura sharpened her gaze. If Karin was already creating new medical techniques, even just adapting old ones, then Sakura wanted her in the program yesterday. She just needed to clear up a few things.

"You adapted the techniques on your own?" she asked.

Karin waved a hand indicating more or less. "I had to ask Kukaku-dono and Hat'n'Clogs, I mean, Urahara-san a lot about how kidou worked, and Ichigo was able to help a little since Unohana-taichou was teaching him at the same time. But I thought of most of the changes myself."

Advanced for her age, Sakura thought, given that they seemed to start learning practical skills much later than shinobi. "Can you tell me an example? Or provide a demonstration?"

"Yes," said Karin coming to attention in her seat. "A few days before the caravan reached Konoha, a boy was stung by a scorpion. I was able to one of my adapted techniques to draw out the poison. They brought him here for a follow-up a few days later."

"_You_ healed Inago's grandson from the Red-Spiker sting?" Sakura demanded shooting out of her chair.

Karin's nod was wary but firm. Sakura slammed her fist against the desk, leaving a small dent in the wood, one of many as evidence of her temper.

"Those morons at the desk," she ranted. "I knew there wasn't a medic-nin traveling with Inago's caravan. They can't just change civilian to shinobi in a report because it seems unlikely. Lives are lost because of errors like that! Ugh."

Sakura froze mid-way into her tirade and glanced at Karin. The girl's skepticism was clear for all to see. Sakura cleared her throat and straightened. She took a moment to run a hand through her hair to straighten the short, pink locks and readjusted her lab coat on her shoulders before carefully sitting down and returning to business.

"I see no reason why we should deny you training, once we get your chakra control up to acceptable levels," said Sakura formally. "But before we start your paperwork there's one more thing to discuss."

"Yes?" asked Karin.

Sakura leaned across the desk to stare in to Karin's eyes. "Medic-nin have better training and skills than any other medical professionals in Konoha, but they are still shinobi. If you begin training as a medic-nin, then you will formally join the ranks, and you will be required to serve a field rotation. In the field, a medic-nin's primary duty is to support her teammates. For most, that means avoiding injury and conserving energy in order to heal her comrades. But it is possible, and even likely, that you will be attacked directly and forced into combat. Do you understand?"

Karin looked down and didn't say anything for a long time. Sakura waited patiently. She had never had to give this particular speech before. Most shinobi were indoctrinated to the life-style as children and grew up around people who fought and died as a matter of routine. But that wasn't the case for the Kurosakis as far as she could determine. They had grown up in a civilian village that was generally unaffected by war; an idea that was difficult for Sakura to even imagine.

A soft rattling noise drew Sakura's attention. Karin was shaking in her seat. Her hands were clenched in tight fists that did nothing to disguise the tremors. Sakura suppressed a sigh. She thought it might be too much, and Karin had such promise too. They could probably put her in the nursing program.

"I want to join," said Karin. She raised her head, and Sakura saw determination blazing in her eyes. "If that's the case, then I definitely want to join."

"It will be dangerous," warned Sakura. "Are you sure?"

"Ichigo has always protected Yuzu and me," said Karin quietly. "He got involved with Soul Society to protect us. And then, he got hurt and couldn't fight anymore. I wanted to fight for Ichigo. I wanted to protect him the way he protected us. But I couldn't do that. Me fighting just hurt Ichigo more. There was nothing I could do to fix it. When he got his power back, that wasn't because of me. And he was so strong, he didn't need me to protect him anymore. But after, he said he was glad that I had supported him all that time even though I hadn't helped at all.

"So I promised myself that would be stronger. That I would learn to heal, so if Ichigo was ever hurt again, then I could put him back together, I could really do something to help. So if medic-nin are the best, then I want to be the best. And if that means fighting, then I'm not afraid. I'll fight anyone if it means protecting my brother. So please," Karin's nervous energy drove her out of her seat and she bowed. "Please take me as your student!"

Sakura stared, stunned by the sudden display of emotion. She couldn't help but think to her own time as a genin and her first Chunin exam. Her skill back then hadn't been enough to protect her teammates. The shame of always staring at their backs, relying on them to protect her, had driven Sakura to learn medical ninjutsu from Tsunade, a sannin, the greatest healer of all time. Sakura had fought for every bit of strength and skill until she could stand level with her teammates and protect them in return. She understood Karin perfectly.

"I'll teach you," said Sakura. "I will teach you everything."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ichigo sat in the hospital lobby waiting for Karin's interview to finish. He idly watched the crowd pass by and decided that, after lunch, he would have to take the girls shopping. They were going to be staying—Naruto's speech had utterly convinced Yuzu and Karin, and Ichigo was willing to follow their decision—and they absolutely needed new clothes. Their Western-style clothes stood out even among the bizarrely dressed shinobi, and Ichigo wanted to avoid any more unnecessary attention.

He had failed in that regard in his fight with Lee, Ichigo knew. But he had needed to work off the energy from his nightmare, and it had been so long since he fought anyone just to test his skills. He couldn't resist the challenge once they started. Lee had been a good fighter and a good person too. His strikes echoed his resolve to work hard and improve himself. Each hit spoke of hundred hours of practice spent perfecting each blow. Lee possessed a devotion to honing his craft and a desire to strive that was full of potential. His whole outlook was… youthful. It was a refreshing change from the ancient opponents Ichigo usually fought against.

"Kurosaki-san, are you all right?"

Startled out of his thoughts, Ichigo looked up to see a familiar set of eyes staring at him. He stood and gave her a slight bow.

"Hyuuga-san," said Ichigo greeted. "No, I'm okay."

Hinata smiled. "That's good. From your expression, I was worried something was wrong."

Ichigo blushed. That was what he got for thinking about Soul Society in the middle of the hospital. "No, I'm just waiting for my sister to finish and interview. What about you? Are you visiting someone?"

Hinata shook her head spilling long black hair across her shoulders. "No, I'm usually the field medic in my squad, so I'm attending a lecture from Shizune-sensei today."

"Oh?" asked Ichigo. "That's impressive. I don't have much talent in that area, but the medics I know are all very strong people."

Now Hinata was fighting down a rising blush. "Thank you, Kurosaki-san. But I have a natural advantage. The byakugan lets me see what the problem is without having to guess. I don't have to work as hard as other field medics."

"That doesn't matter," said Ichigo. He ignored her surprised flinch. "If you're helping someone, it doesn't matter to them how you do it, just that you're helping. That's what I believe. But the byakugan, is that…?" He gestured toward his face.

Hinata's startled look shifted to amusement. "Yes, it's the Hyuuga Clan's dojutsu. It's why we're so recognizable."

"Then you probably know this guy I met the other day," said Ichigo. "Neji, I think was his name."

"Neji-onii-san is my older cousin," said Hinata happily. "When did you meet him?"

"I ended up sparring with one of his teammates the other morning," said Ichigo.

Hinata look had shifted to mild alarm. "You were the one sparring with Lee-kun? Are you alright? Lee-kun and Gai-san can be very intense in their work outs."

Ichigo waved a hand. "No, it was fun."

"Really?" asked Hinata. She still looked a bit dubious. "In that case, Neji mentioned Lee was interested in a rematch. If you're interested, then they meet at that training ground every day at oh six hundred when they're not out on missions."

"I'll think about it," said Ichigo. He meant it this time. He had enjoyed the fight, and more than that he had enjoyed seeing his sisters' faces when they learned he was interacting with someone rather than just wandering around the village by himself. "Thank you, Hyuuga-san."

"Just passing the word along, Kurosaki-san," she said cheerfully. She paused and stared over Ichigo's shoulder. "Oh! I need to go. It was good to see you again, Kurosaki-san."

"Of course," said Ichigo. "Good-bye, Hyuuga-san."

Another small bow and Hinata was striding away into the hospital. Ichigo glanced behind him. Yes, there was a clock, and it was almost noon. Surely, Karin would be done soon. He turned back. To his disappointment, Hinata had disappeared from sight.

"Ichi-nii!"

Karin hurried toward him. She wore a happy grin, and there was a lightness to her step that Ichigo hadn't seen in years. She was cradling half-a-dozen scrolls in her arms and carrying a thick packet of papers.

"What's all this?" asked Ichigo.

"Registration papers, hospital procedures, and Sakura-sensei gave me few medical scrolls to study while we work out my schedule," said Karin. Her smile abruptly turned into a scowl. "You didn't even let me tell you I made it."

"I already knew you could do it," said Ichigo relieving her of some scrolls. "Let's get back to Yuzu. She'll be happy for you. She might even make something that's not ramen for dinner."

Karin groaned and shuffled toward the doors. "I know she wants to make the perfect bowl of ramen for Naruto, but can't we get a break? We've been eating nothing but ramen for the last three days."

"Tell you what," said Ichigo. "You tell Yuzu the good news. Then we can go out for lunch and shopping after. She won't have time to make ramen tonight."

Karin considered it. "That's a pretty good idea, Ichi-nii. I'm going to need some clothes to train in anyway."

"I have them from time to time," said Ichigo. Then the rest of the statement registered. "Wait, what?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Sasuke deflected another blow with his chokuto and darted forward slipping under the shinobi's guard to stab him in the heart. As the body of his latest opponent fell, Sasuke took a moment to survey the impromptu battlefield. Suigetsu was still locked in combat with two lightning users, Karin was still unconscious on the ground at Sasuke's feet, and another attacker was already making his way over Sasuke's defensive Wall of Flame.

The last Uchiha wasn't even sure why they were under attack. He and his team were on another fact-finding mission from the Hokage, reestablishing contact with some of Jiraiya's old informants, and keeping an eye out for dissent against Konohagakure. They were traveling in disguise too—that was why Jugo had been left in the village—and barely past the Land of Fire's borders. Plenty of people had a grudge against the Uchiha or the remains of Akatsuki or Sound, but no one should have been able to identify them.

The attack had come without warning. Karin's abilities as a sensor-type were unparalleled, but she had given no indication of pursuit. One minute everything was fine, with Suigetsu and Karin bickering like an old married couple, and the next she had dropped like a stone. A dozen attackers had dropped out of the trees, and they were in battle.

Sasuke inhaled. Forming a familiar series of hand-signs, he breathed out flame. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The attacking shinobi didn't have time to dodge. A brief screech of pain quickly cut-off as he melted into a pool of liquid fat and bone. Sasuke added more chakra to his defensive wall flaring the flames higher and forcing the other shinobi back. Except, there were fewer shinobi on the other side. There was a rumble beneath his feet, and Sasuke tensed to jump away. But he couldn't abandon Karin.

Hands shot out of the earth, avoiding Sasuke completely, and pulled the limp kunoichi underground. Rage roared through the Uchiha's veins. He struck down blindly, but the attackers were gone. He cancelled the fire wall, that was useless now too, and shunshin'd to Suigetsu's side, blasting through one of the attackers in an instant. Suigetsu took the opportunity to slice through the other shinobi's head then turned reproachful eyes on Sasuke.

"What took you so long?" demanded Suigetsu. "I could have—

"They took Karin," said Sasuke. "Hurry up."

Sasuke activated his sharingan and started running. Suigetsu would catch up sooner or later.

Most would find it difficult track shinobi moving underground, especially if the trackers were not earth-type chakra users. Sasuke had no such difficulty. He could follow the minute traces of displaced dirt on the surface. The enemy shinobi might as well have trampled through the forest for all the good it did them.

The longer it took Sasuke to reach Karin, the angrier he became. By the time he caught up with the troop, he was no longer a person who could be reasoned with. Not that the enemy shinobi tried. One carried Karin slung across his shoulders. The others, all seven remaining, stopped to confront Sasuke.

Seven shinobi weren't enough to slow Sasuke down, and these weren't even that good. He cut down the center of the line without stopping and charged the one carrying Karin. He, at least, knew how to dodge and avoided a blow that would have severed his arm. The enemy shinobi dropped Karin and turned to face Sasuke.

With his sharingan activated, Sasuke would never be able to forget a detail of that face, but oddly enough there wasn't much to remember. There was no hitai-ate. No distinguishing scars or tattoos. His features were regular to the point of blandness, and the color of his skin and hair could have belonged to a variety of nations. Only his eyes stood out, one remarkable feature in an otherwise featureless landscape. He had no dojutsu, just plain, brown eyes. But they were empty, yawning pits utterly devoid of light and life, lacking even the sick burn of madness.

For a moment, fear tugged at Sasuke and he hesitated. "Why did you attack us? What do you want with Karin?"

"Karin, descendant of the Uzumaki, recently of Konoha," said the shinobi in a voice as unremarkable as his face. "We need her."

"She's not yours to take," said Sasuke. "I'll stop you."

The man smiled. The emptiness in his eyes turned to hunger. "You can't stop us."

Rage over took the fear, and Sasuke charged. The enemy shinobi started forming seals. Sasuke jumped up and away as spikes of earth appeared in his path. A rock wall grew behind the spikes hiding the shinobi and Karin from view. Sasuke sent lightning chakra coursing through his sword, comforted by the familiar hum of electrified metal, and easily destroyed the wall in a single blow. The shinobi hadn't had time to move or prepare another attack, and on the backswing, Sasuke sliced him in half.

Sasuke quickly sheathed his blade and scooped up Karin before another shinobi could take her. He whirled on his heel, ready to confront the rest of the group, but they were already dead. Suigetsu had taken care of the remainder while Sasuke confronted the leader. He closed his eyes and powered down his sharingan. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed Suigetsu's frown as he picked his way over the dead bodies.

"That was boring," said the bloodthirsty swordsman. "I'm not even sure those guys knew how to use chakra."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Not everything has to be a great bloody battle."

"But that's what makes it fun," protested Suigetsu. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"You're wrong," said Sasuke flatly. "But you are right that none of them seemed terribly skilled. Only this one at earth release and those other two with lightning." He paused. None of the ones they had slain were wearing foreheads protectors. They _were_ wearing similar clothing, but bandits did the same simply because that sort of clothing was cheap. "Check for any identification—

"Can't stop us."

Sasuke and Suigetsu pivoted toward the voice. There was no one behind them except the half-destroyed corpse of the failed kidnapper.

"Please tell me he is not coming back to life," said Suigetsu. "Haven't we had enough of that sort of thing already?"

The mystery shinobi didn't come back to life. He melted. Not into water as the former kiri-nin did at will, but by collapsing into the various components that made up a human body. His skin rotted off, his bones crumbled into dust, his muscles collapsed in rancid strings, and the few organs Sasuke hadn't fried in his attack ruptured into stinking black matter. A quick check showed the other bodies had done the same.

"Oh, gross," said Suigetsu.

Sasuke shot him a disbelieving look. Then again, Suigetsu rarely saw himself melt and reform. Sasuke shifted Karin into a more comfortable position in his arms—she was heavy with muscle, but he could carry her for a while longer—and started walking back to the road.

"We're just leaving?" demanded Suigetsu.

"There's nothing for us to take back to Konoha," said Sasuke. "And if more are coming, then we shouldn't wait around here with Karin still unconscious."

Suigetsu hurried to catch up. A worried frown showed on his face as he leaned in to get a closer look at the kunoichi. He would never admit it out loud, but Suigetsu liked Karin. And Sasuke. And Jugo. Sasuke had never been able to figure out why, exactly. They hadn't met at a great point in Sasuke's life. In fact, they had probably met him at his worst. But he, and the rest of Team Taka, had stayed with Sasuke even when he had returned to Konoha to face his punishment for deserting. It meant a lot to Sasuke to have his support, especially now that Karin was hurt.

"Do you think she'll wake up soon?" asked Suigetsu.

"I don't know," said Sasuke. He didn't know what had put her down in the first place. He planned to keep going. There was a town nearby where they could rest for the night. But if she wasn't awake by morning, then they were heading straight back to Konoha.

Suigetsu clicked his tongue. "Tch. Damn girl's missing out. Getting carried in lover-boy's arms like a princess. She'd be over the moon."

Sasuke flushed. His relationship with Karin wasn't like _that_. "Shut up!"

Suigetsu snickered. "Karin and Sasuke sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G."

"I said, shut up!"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Yuzu felt the slide of yellow silk kimono between her fingers and decided to put it back. It was good quality but not the best, and she thought the starting price was a bit too much, especially on their budget. She bowed to the shopkeeper and moved to the next stall. They needed new clothes. Two months on the road, even traveling with a caravan, had seen a lot of wear on the few garments they had brought with them. She glanced at the crowd and then at her own sundress and sandals. Ichi-nii had a good point about blending in too. There were some Western elements thrown-in among mostly traditional clothing, but no one wore clothes quite like hers or her siblings'.

The problem was, she thought as she moved to the next stall, that they needed new _everything_, not just clothes, and buying that much stuff was expensive. They did have quite a lot of money from Uzumaki Mamoru that was happily resting in a brand new bank account, but that money wouldn't last forever. Even trading in the jewelry, gold, and silver their father had given them before they left would only add so much to their funds. Once Karin started her new job, she would be bringing in a little money, but they had no idea how much that would be or when she would start.

Yuzu winced when she thought of Karin's new occupation. Ichigo had not been pleased when he realized Karin's position as a medic-nin would involve actual combat. The resulting screaming match would have deafened the neighborhood if Ichigo hadn't remembered to perform a sound-dampening kidou first. Yuzu thought it was fairly obvious when Sakura was introduced as a medic-_nin_ that fighting would be involved at some point. Then again, Ichi-nii could be a little blind about that sort of thing at times. Being oblivious to personal matters was a specialty of Ichigo's. He had spent years ignoring Orihime's feelings for him after all.

The fight had finally ended when Karin accused Ichigo of doubting her abilities, and Ichigo had claimed not to deny her abilities at all but insist he was looking out for her best interests. Karin had informed him it was in her best interest to learn to fight, so she could better protect her interests. Ichigo hadn't been able to argue with that, but Yuzu wished Karin hadn't phrased it quite like that; it reminded Ichigo too much of his failure to protect them from Soul Society.

They had gone out for a celebratory lunch anyway, and everyone's mood had slowly improved. Afterward, Yuzu had sent Ichigo with Karin so he could help her pick out the gear Sakura had recommended, while she volunteered to start shopping for their regular clothes on her own. Well, not entirely on her own.

Yuzu smiled down at the lion doll riding in her bag. "I was thinking I could get some fabric to make something for you, Kon, since we left all the outfits Uryu made in Karakura." She ignored the sweat beading on the doll's forehead. "Maybe something traditional. Like a yukata? In dark blue. That would look lovely with your fur."

She grinned a little at the sigh of relief. They should have told her Bostov was a boy much sooner. Though Uryu had known and had made all those women's outfits anyway. He brother's friends were so strange.

A new goal in mind, Yuzu looked about for a fabric-seller. She was handy with a needle. They all were after stitching up patients in the clinic. And Uryu had shown her a few embroidery patterns at her request including a fetching design using the Quincy cross. She could put it on their clothes like the Uzu-spiral on Naruto's jacket. She could probably make him something too. She knew he liked orange.

She didn't see a fabric-seller nearby, but she did see a flash of silver duck into a shop. Curious, Yuzu moved closer and saw it was a dango restaurant. After a moment's thought, Yuzu went inside too. She thought Karin and Ichigo would appreciate the sweet pick-me-up after they were finished shopping.

On the way back out, someone flagged her down.

"Kurosaki-san, over here."

Yuzu turned. There was Hatake-san sitting at a table with a rather scantily-clad woman munching on dango. Hatake didn't seem to be eating much with his mask in place.

"Hello, Hatake-san. I thought I saw you come in," said Yuzu. "It's good to see you again."

"It's just Kakashi, Kurosaki-san. Hatake-san was my father," he said. "This is Mitarashi Anko. Anko, this is Kurosaki Yuzu, the girl I was telling you about the other day."

Yuzu blinked then gave the kunoichi a quick bow. "Pleased to meet you, Mitarashi-san."

Mitarashi pushed herself out of her seat without answering and circled around Yuzu to take her measure. She stopped in front of Yuzu and scowled. Yuzu smiled back. That was what worked best with Ichigo.

"This is the girl that worked over Yamato?" asked Mitarashi. "Pull the other one, Kakashi."

"Oh dear," said Yuzu. "I hope Yamato-san didn't get in too much trouble."

Mitarashi threw back her head and laughed. "Come on, Kakashi. No one's going to take that seriously. She's carrying a stuffed toy, for goodness sake. Girl, look at you, and look at me. What do you see?"

Yuzu looked down at herself. She was wearing the same sundress with a daisy print she had picked out this morning, carrying a shopping with Kon poking out, and for the most part looked normal. She looked at Mitarashi and took in the boots, the fishnet armor, the skirt, the jacket, and most important of all the hitai-ate displayed proudly on her forehead.

She smiled at Mitarashi. "Your hair-cut really suits the shape of your face, Mitarashi-san. It's super-cute!"

The kunoichi gaped. From his seat, Kakashi let out a quiet chuckle. Yuzu kept up her smile. She did her family's hair after all. She noticed things like that. It wouldn't look quite the same on Karin. Her sister's face was a little too lean, but it was a cute style.

Mitarashi pointed an accusing finger. "Don't expect me to believe that's the first thing you thought of."

Yuzu felt heat rising in her cheeks and raised her hands to hide her blush. "Well, no, my first thought was… Most women don't have the confidence to wear just metal-mesh like that, but Mitarashi-san has such a lovely figure. The effect is quite striking. But that's just so embarrassing to say."

Mitarashi was staring again. Kakashi's chuckle had shifted to somewhat inappropriate giggle. Yuzu gave him a disapproving look. He if kept laughing like that, people would have strange thoughts about him for sure.

"Ibiki would laugh me out of the room," mumbled Mitarashi.

Yuzu frowned in confusion. Who was Ibiki? She glanced at Kakashi for guidance.

"Anko is highly place in T&I," explained Kakashi. "Her recommendation to Morino Ibiki, the chief of that department, would go a long way if you decided to join."

"Oh," said Yuzu with sudden insight. She clasped her hands together and turned back to Anko. "In that case, Mitarashi-san, how did you get involved in T&I?"

Anko laughed darkly. "After I quit that bastard Orochimaru, I spent a long time in Interrogation. They had to make sure I wasn't a sleeper-agent, you see. After they vetted me, I joined up. I don't think that's going to work for you."

"No," admitted Yuzu sadly. "But, Mitarashi-san, wasn't it difficult to work alongside the people who had been…mean to you before?"

"Ha!" The kunoichi let out a short, sharp bark of laugher. "The guys in T&I were the only ones who wanted to work with me. After all, they knew I wouldn't betray the village when everyone else still looked at me sideways."

Yuzu tilted her head thoughtfully. "Was that important to you? Knowing who might be a traitor?"

"It's the most important," declared Anko. "A village only works because shinobi can rely on their comrades. Betrayal is the worst thing one person can do to the other!"

Yuzu nodded in fervent agreement. She felt the same, especially after what Soul Society did Ichigo. "With feelings like those, you must have been great right from the start!"

Anko looked away embarrassed. "Well, Ibiki did say I showed promise, but the first time is hard for everybody."

"Oh?" asked Yuzu. "Is that so? Even you?"

"Yeah," said Anko with a little laugh. "I remember my first—

Kakashi coughed loudly into his fist, and Anko cut off abruptly at the sound. Yuzu pouted in disappointment. She had wanted to hear more. Mitarashi blinked rapidly as her brain caught up with her mouth.

"Natural talent," whispered the kunoichi. She cleared her throat. "That's very good. But a trick like that won't work on a prepared shinobi. Is that all you've got?"

Yuzu adopted a thoughtful expression and glanced up at the ceiling. She nodded firmly. "There's one more thing. Could you hold Kon, Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi took her bag with an amused smirk. Yuzu could sense it even though she couldn't see behind the mask. He and Anko watched as Yuzu raised her right arm above her head and assumed an expression of intense concentration.

Something shifted beneath Yuzu's dress. A thin dark shape snaked out of the arm-hole and twined around the raised limb. It slowed briefly, revealing itself to be a heavy black chain, before shooting towards the ceiling. The chain jumped over an exposed rafter and reached back down to wrap around Mitarashi's arm. A brief tug from Yuzu and the kunoichi was hovering half-a-meter off the ground.

Despite her situation, Anko's expression could only be described as victorious. "Excellent," she said. "How'd you do it, kid?"

Yuzu blushed. "Um, I'm not exactly sure. It's not something Ichi-nii or Karin can do."

"They're chakra-weapons," said a stunned Kakashi. He slid a half-drawn kunai back into his weapons pouch, and the rest of the shinobi in the establishment followed suit. "Kushina, Naruto's mother, could do something similar. It's an Uzumaki talent."

"Really?" asked Yuzu. "That's great."

"Yeah, yeah," said Mitarashi. "Whatever. Can you make more than one?"

"I can," said Yuzu hesitantly. "But, the more there are the harder it gets to control if they go through people or not."

"Through people?" repeated Anko.

Yuzu lightly shook her arm. It sent Anko swaying but also loosened the part of the chain attached to Yuzu. She showed off her wrist, which was manacled, sort of. There was a manacle there, but it was too small to circle the whole limb and bit through the middle of her wrist instead. She twisted her arm the opposite direction showing off a larger-than-average metal link that pierced her elbow. There was no blood at either site, but that made visuals even more disturbing.

"That doesn't hurt?" asked Kakashi sounding concerned.

Yuzu shook her head. "Not really." It did hurt some, but she had quickly grown accustomed to the pain the first few times she summoned the chains. "It's really the chains themselves that cause pain."

"Oh?" asked Anko looking doubtful. "I'm not exactly comfortable here, but I haven't noticed any outstanding pain."

Yuzu gasped. "Oh no, I definitely wouldn't use that ability without warning you first. You haven't done anything to deserve a nasty surprise like that."

Mitarashi considered this for a moment. Then she grinned. "Hit me with it."

"What?" asked Yuzu.

"Use that ability of yours on me. If I'm impressed, I'll present you to Ibiki myself," she declared. "Don't worry. I can take it."

Yuzu wasn't sure about that, but she wasn't about to insult the kunoichi by saying so. "Okay."

Yuzu closed her eyes. In all honesty, it had taken her a lot of effort to learn to summon just the chains without the accompanying pain. Adding the burning power associated with her hell links was a simple matter of letting the power free again. She didn't want to startle Anko too badly, so she slowly eased her grip on the fiery spiritual energy.

On the chain itself, previously unseen symbols glowed with sulfurous yellow light starting with the ones on Yuzu's arm and continuing link by link. The light started to darken as it reached the ceiling, and by the time it reached Anko, the links glowed a fiery red-orange. The ones touching the kunoichi lit up all at once. She seized, twisting back and forth on the chain like a hooked fish. She didn't scream only because she couldn't unclench her jaw.

After ten seconds, Yuzu dispersed the chains completely. Mitarashi dropped to the ground, but to Yuzu's surprise she managed to land in a crouch. Anko's harsh pants as she caught her breath were the only sound in whole restaurant. Eventually, she looked up and met Yuzu's eyes.

"That's was pretty good work, kid," she said.

To Yuzu's surprise and great relief, Mitarashi managed to stand a moment later. She fumbled with the arm of her jacket, pulling back the sleeve to reveal clear, unmarked skin.

"Damn, it feels like my arm's on fire," Anko said ruefully. "That's some trick."

"Ichi-nii can fix that," Yuzu reassured her. She gesture to the door. "He's on his way over."

"Eh? Were you planning to meet here?" asked Kakashi.

"No," she said. "But he and Karin definitely felt me do that. They're probably worried about it."

"How'd they know?" asked Anko. She looked a little pale but was determined to act fine.

"They just can?" suggested Yuzu. "Nobody else around here would be using a power like that, so they know it's me."

"So your whole family can sense chakra?" asked Anko.

Before Yuzu could reply, the door to the shop flew open. A frantic looking Ichigo and a worried Karin barreled inside. When they caught sight of Yuzu smiling, both of them relaxed and scowled. Yuzu giggled at their matching expressions.

"Geez, Yuzu," said Karin. "What were you doing?"

"She was applying for a position with T&I," said Anko. She stepped forward and wrapped her unaffected arm around Yuzu's shoulders. "I'm keeping this one."

Ichigo let out a pained noise, while Karin rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

"You couldn't have given Ichi-nii a day to recover?" she asked.

Yuzu winced, but neither of her siblings looked particularly surprised. They had probably expected her to take this route ever since Kakashi suggested it. Back in Karakura, she had considered taking a teaching position somewhere or maybe opening a restaurant. But T&I suited her so much better these days, especially considering Anko's words. If they wanted to avoid a situation like Soul Society, then Yuzu needed to know the people in Konoha. T&I was the best place for that.

"Sorry, Ichi-nii," she said.

"It's fine," said Ichigo in a strangled voice. "If you want it, then it's fine."

Yuzu knew it wasn't really fine, but she was happy enough to avoid a shouting match of her own. They weren't her strong suit, and she didn't want to make Karin defend Yuzu's decision for her. Neither of them liked to argue with Ichi-nii in the first place. Two fights in one day were too many.

"Thanks, Ichi-nii," said Yuzu brightly. She glanced up at Anko, who had started to lean on Yuzu for support. The kunoichi might have been capable of withstanding the physical sensation of pain, but she had no training to shake off the foreign reiatsu in her system. "Do you think you can fix Mitarashi-san's arm?"

"Eh, call me Anko, kid. We'll be working together soon enough," she said. Anko glanced at her arm held limply at her side. "It won't go away on its own?"

Yuzu looked critically at her arm. She wasn't good with other people's spiritual power the way Karin and Ichigo were, but she knew every aspect of her own power. It was too dangerous to other people if she didn't. She hadn't used her full strength, and it was only the arm, but there was the matter of Anko's spiritual pressure to consider.

"Three days," said Ichigo, who had also been looking at the arm.

"At least, three days," agreed Yuzu. "And the feeling won't fade any in that time. Sorry, Anko-san."

"Hey, I asked for it," said Anko. She looked at Ichigo. "You can fix it?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Sure."

He stepped forward. A gentle golden glow surrounded his right hand. He ran it down Anko's arm, and then across Yuzu too. Yuzu gave a sigh of relief as the tight pain in her chest eased. Using her power didn't hurt her the same way it hurt other people, but there was still some pain. She was glad Ichigo had retained his own power to reverse the effects.

Anko had let go of Yuzu and was putting her arm through its paces. "Good as new," she said. "What did you do?"

Yuzu sent a pointed look at her brother. He needed to be more social.

Ichigo scowled at her, but answered anyway. "I dissolved the foreign energy in your arm."

"Oh?" asked Anko. "I didn't notice any foreign chakra. But if that's all, couldn't I have forced it out on my own?"

"I don't know," said Ichigo. "The energy is designed to stick, so it can't be resisted like that normally. But chakra might effect it differently."

"I can test it once Karin and I start learning chakra," said Yuzu.

Anko froze and turned to face Yuzu. "You haven't learned to use chakra? But those chains…"

"That's right," said Yuzu remembering. "Kakashi-san said the chains were actually chakra weapons."

Ichigo and Karin both looked at Kakashi. The jounin nodded in confirmation and straightened, just a touch, in his seat.

"Chakra-constructs, technically," said Kakashi. "It's a skill of the Uzumaki Clan. I'm surprised that you could use them instinctively like that. Your chakra reserves must be a lot bigger than we thought."

"What's this about the chakra?" repeated Anko.

Yuzu smiled sheepishly. "Well, we're not from the Elemental Countries, so none of us know very much about chakra yet. But Karin is going to go to classes so she can train as a medic-nin. I thought I could do the same thing. Is that okay?"

"Hell, yes," said Anko. Fire burned in her eyes as she considered the possibilities. "That sort of special circumstance we'll have to sort out with the hokage. Let's go, kid."

Anko latched on to Yuzu's arm, dragged her out of the dango shop, and took off at a sprint toward the Hokage Tower. Dumbfounded, Ichigo and Karin stared after their rapidly departing sister and, after a silent exchange, raced off in pursuit. Seemingly abandoned to his own devices, Kakashi heard a small whimper. He looked down. He was still holding Yuzu's bag with the stuffed lion.

"Better go after them," he said and got up to follow the crowd.

In the restaurant, the other shinobi patrons reluctantly returned to their original conservations. After a moment, the civilians did too. It was Anko's favorite dango shop after all. Stuff like that happened all the time.

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For those of you wondering what happened to Yuzu, the answer is the fourth Bleach movie. I know it isn't canon, but this a crossover AU, so I'm using it.

I've had several comments about Ichigo's powers so far. As the story progresses and the Kurosakis get more involved in Konoha, we'll start to see how his abilities and strengths compare to those of the average, and not-so-average, ninja. Just remember that there won't be much of a story if a shinigami's spiritual power could steamroll a shinobi's chakra-based abilities.

And for those of you who are concerned that shinobi are oblivious to the clues the Kurosakis are dropping, they really aren't. It's hard to balance the caution we expect from shinobi and the super-friendly atmosphere of Naruto's Konoha. Everyone knows there's something weird about the Kurosakis. They came out of nowhere, they're seeking political asylum, Ichigo has some military training, etc. The shinobi will be watching the Kurosakis for quite a while trying to figure them out, but they trust their leaders, Tsunade and Naruto, will let them know if there is a reason to be worried.

I appreciate all your comments and suggestions. The bots are taking their sweet time processing your reviews, but that doesn't mean you should stop. Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

Soul of Fire

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Ichigo stared at the ceiling of his room. Another night. Another nightmare. He slowly turned his head to check the time. Five thirty blazed from the clock face. In a few hours, Karin and Yuzu would join the Academy classes for the first time. Despite the significant age gap between his sisters and the other students, everyone agreed it was the best place for them to start. The teachers at the Academy were the best at introducing basics of the shinobi arts, and Karin and Yuzu both had to start at the very bottom in every category including taijutsu. A few self-defense lessons from Tatsuki and naturally high stamina wouldn't help them against opponents who had spent years training kill, even if they were twelve years old.

Still, they wouldn't be spending all their time at the Academy. After lessons were over, Karin would start shadowing Sakura in the hospital. Yuzu would do something similar with Anko but not for a few more weeks. She would be getting extra lessons in taijutsu and the techniques shinobi used to subdue their prisoners until she could meet the exact standards set by Ibiki Morino as head of the Torture and Interrogation Force. Ichigo took little comfort in knowing it would be weeks before she could even enter their headquarters.

Both of his sisters were training to become killers. Ichigo had utterly failed to keep them safe. But, if he refused to acknowledge their resolve, Ichigo knew he would stifle their growth. Though their relationship as father and son was far from perfect, that was one crime Goat-Face had never committed against Ichigo. He refused to hold his sisters back, even if their choices frightened him.

Ichigo glanced at the clock again. Five thirty two. He groaned. There was no way he could make it through the day without some sort of distraction. He sat up quickly checking the clock again. Still five thirty two. But hadn't Hinata said her cousin's team met at six for practice? A good fight would help him calm down, sort of. At least, he would be able to stop thinking for a while.

Decision made, Ichigo got of bed and started looking through his closet. If he was going to be fighting hand-to-hand—he still wasn't sure about using his bokken against Lee—then he would need something to protect his arms.

After sorting through some of Yuzu's more obscure clothing choices—they had completed their shopping trip after sorting out things with the hokage and retrieving Kon from Kakashi—he managed to find a long-sleeved, blue, Chinese-style tunic and a pair of plain black pants. Another quick search turned up a bright orange sash with the number "15" stitched carefully on the ends in black thread. Taping his wrists and ankles for support and to secure the loose sleeves, Ichigo made a few quick punches and kicks at shadows and decided he was ready.

Slipping quietly out of his room, he moved to the kitchen and wrote a short note for Yuzu. He expected to be back before the girls left for class, but he wasn't sure how long Lee's team practiced or how long he would be welcome.

"What are you doing?" Kon appeared at his shoulder. Ichigo acknowledged him with a grunt and finished his note. "You're going to fight that weirdo in green again? I'm coming too."

"Whatever," said Ichigo, but he let the mod-soul hitch a ride on his shoulder all the same.

He stuck the note to fridge and frowned. The technology in the Elemental Countries confused him. They had electric refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, and radios. There were movie theaters, but televisions were rare. Phones and telegraphs were completely unheard of. And there didn't seem to be any drive to develop cars or a railway system despite all of the trade between countries. Well, that wasn't his problem, though he did miss his mobile phone. Or, if he was honest with himself, he missed the people who used to call his phone.

Ichigo shook the melancholy thoughts from his head. He paused at the door to slip on his new waraji over bare feet. His sisters had both selected more traditional geta as most of the shinobi seemed to wear the raised sandals. Even Urarhara wore them back in Karakura, though since Soi Fon and Yoruichi both preferred Chinese slippers, Ichigo suspected that was just his former mentor's style. Personally, he was more comfortable in the woven sandals and used to fighting in them after all the time spent in his shinigami form. He would need every advantage against Lee regardless.

After a moment's hesitation, Ichigo took the bokken leaning next to the door and tied it to his sash. He wouldn't use it against Lee, but he felt naked without a weapon near at hand, and Zangetsu was far too conspicuous.

Before he left, Ichigo made sure the protective barrier on the apartment was still working. He had rewritten it to be a little less dangerous to shinobi. He really didn't need to warn off anyone who bothered to knock after all. But he had still given Naruto a key the last time they met. If Ichigo hadn't known better, he suspected the blonde's head would have split in half—Naruto had been smiling that hard.

Once outside, Ichigo checked to see if Neji was one of their watchers again. To his surprise, there was no one nearby. He could have sworn they were there last night. If Karin and Yuzu were both part of Konoha, perhaps the hokage decided they no longer needed extra surveillance. Still, if no one was watching, Ichigo could take the roof-top route without worrying about being late.

Shunpo had been surprisingly easy to use in his human body, which was a relief after Ishida had seen his attempts at hirenkyaku and promptly collapsed into laughter. Ichigo's Quincy abilities were subpar compared to his others as he rarely needed to use them. But that hadn't stopped Ishida from walking through the basics anyway. He had also forced Ichigo into the archery club in university and given him the bow currently decorating the apartment's wall saying it was only appropriate for a Quincy to know the Art. Ichigo would probably never master the bow the way Ishida had, but he could his target ninety-nine times out of one hundred and that was good enough. Still, he could probably practice more now that his days were his own.

Ichigo just barely remembered to land when he reached the last building. He hadn't seen any shinobi around the village using an air-walking technique though many of their chakra-powered jumps and the Body Flicker jutsu came close. He assumed it was one of their more advanced abilities, and he didn't need to show off that level of skill.

His sense of direction was decent and he found the appropriate training ground just at Lee's team was arriving. They looked surprised to see him. Or more accurately Tenten and Neji looked surprised while Lee and Gai burst into eerily identical tears of joy. It almost made Ichigo regret his decision, but he had faced down worse than overly emotive shinobi. He just had to keep telling himself that.

"Welcome back, Kurosaki-san," said Lee. "It is most good to see you again."

"Ichigo is fine," he said after a moment. "I don't want to interrupt your practice, but Hinata-san mentioned you might want a rematch?"

"You are most welcome," said Gai boldy. "Your return speaks to the fires of your youth! The flame that cannot be dampened! We would all like a chance to test our skills against a new opponent."

"Right," said Ichigo uncertainly.

Now that he got a better look at them. He could see that Gai's suit was closer to blue than green, and while they sported similar haircuts and mannerisms, there was no way Lee and Gai were actually related. In all likelihood, Lee's style was a form of hero-worship-by-imitation similar to Soi Fon and Yoruichi's relationship though obviously lacking the centuries of history between the two women.

"Have you warmed up yet?" asked Lee.

"Ah, no," said Ichigo. Using Flash-Step certainly hadn't given him time to warm up.

"You can spar with me then," said Tenten. "Hand-to-hand's not my specialty, so we'll go slow."

"Right, thank you," said Ichigo. "Just let me put down my stuff."

Neji and Lee moved to their own spar with Gai observing while Ichigo leaned his bokken against a nearby tree. He set Kon down next to the weapon and turned to face Tenten. She was staring at the lion plushie with interest.

"Ah, Ichigo-san, your doll…?" she trailed off.

"Kon?" asked Ichigo. He didn't think the mod-soul had done anything to attract attention yet. "I can turn him around if it bothers you."

"No," said Tenten. "It's fine. Are you ready?"

They moved away from the trees and squared off. Now that Ichigo had more time for a look he noticed that overall Tenten's outfit was a Chinese style rather than the Japanese worn by most of the shinobi. Unlike her more colorful teammates, her white top and red pants would blend-in in any number of martial competitions back in Japan. The harness was a bit strange, but Ichigo understood it was designed for the large scroll that she had put aside for their warm-ups.

Tenten attacked first. Ichigo had never had a chance to develop that habit. Almost everyone who wanted to fight him attacked whenever they wanted. The following exchange of blows was easy, a far cry from the frantic bout with Lee a few days ago. It reminded him of sparring with Tatsuki, even if the style Tenten used was unfamiliar.

After a few rounds, it was obvious to Ichigo that Tenten had an extremely different focus than Lee. She was an armed fighter, according to her teammate, but Ichigo doubted it was at close range. He suspected most of her skill at hand-to-hand was due to training with Lee and Neji as teammates rather than any deliberate emphasis on that style. If Ichigo was fighting her for real, he suspected she was would be as easy to take out as Isane-fukutaichou at this distance. However this wasn't that sort of fight, and once they were both warm, they naturally broke apart.

Her teammates were watching them with interest.

"Very good," said Gai shooting them a thumbs-up. Ichigo swore his teeth gleamed. "But, tell me, Ichigo-san, what is the style you use. I am not familiar with it."

"Style?" questioned Ichigo. He mostly used whatever worked. "I had some training in karate as a kid."

"Karate?" repeated Gai. "It does not sound familiar. But it is clearly a hard-fist style."

"Hard-fist?" asked Ichigo.

"All hand-to-hand style can be broken into two categories," said Gai in a voice reserved for masters dispensing wisdom. "Hard-fist refers to all styles that focus on breaking your opponent with force. Gentle-fist refers to styles that involve redirecting your opponent's energy and do not require direct force."

"Oh, like aikido," said Ichigo thoughtfully.

"Another foreign style?" asked Gai. "Perhaps so. Lee is a master of hard-fist style while Neji prefers the gentle-fist style of the Hyuuga Clan. Tenten's strength in taijutsu lies in mastery of weapons."

"So taijutsu isn't just hand-to-hand fighting," said Ichigo in surprise.

Gai shook his head. "No, that is a common mistake among civilians. Taijutsu refers to all shinobi arts where chakra is used to reinforce and enhance the body's natural capabilities rather than shaping it to produce ninjutsu and genjutsu."

"Oh, I see," said Ichigo. So that meant the Quincy abilities of Blut Vene and Blut Arterie and the Hollow ability Hierro would all fall under the umbrella of taijutsu. He could probably use his spiritual pressure to reinforce his body the way Zaraki had during their first meeting and pass it off as taijutsu, but given the other effects of intense reiatsu, it would be best to avoid using that technique around the shinobi. They would probably freeze up or, worse, _not_ freeze up and attack him.

"I know that you wanted to have a rematch with Lee," said Gai. "But, would you consider a fight with Neji first?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Sure, that's fine with me."

Neji nodded in agreement. He and Ichigo assumed their ready stances, though Ichigo couldn't see how the white uniform with all that extra fabric could be practical in a hand-to-hand fight.

"The advantage of Hyuuga's gentle fist," said Neji intensely, "is that, when used with our byakugan, we can see the tenketsu points of our opponents. We can then hit these points and close them with our own chakra, thereby shutting down our opponents' chakra system so they are no longer able to fight."

Ichigo hummed thoughtfully. "So you're saying that I have to dodge all of your strikes while trying to hit you, or else I'll lose. Sounds interesting."

Neji smirked. Ichigo was a little excited. As a shinigami, it rarely mattered what sort of force was brought against him, he could always recover and keep going. He didn't have the same advantage as a human. His training with the Fullbringers had shown him that, and when Ishida started teaching him Quincy techniques, he had emphasized the need to avoid being hit, usually by filling the room with arrows. This would be a challenge.

Apparently, Neji's teammates were interested too. Instead of proceeding with their own spar, Lee and Tenten had lined up next to Gai in order to watch.

"Begin," said Gai.

The veins around Neji's eyes bulged, and to Ichigo's surprise, the faint amount of spiritual energy he sensed from the other man rose slightly, and his spiritual pressure, which fluctuated randomly in all shinobi, suddenly evened out. Ichigo realized that he must have activated the byakugan technique that Neji and Hinata had both mentioned.

There was an awkward moment where Neji and Ichigo both stared at each other. Ichigo still wasn't used to attacking first, and upon reflection, the Hyuuga's style was obviously defense-based. Still, Neji was supremely confident in his abilities and quickly took the opportunity to strike first.

Neji was not as fast as Lee, and Ichigo easily avoid his first few strikes. When Ichigo attempted to hit back with a knife-hand strike to the shoulder, Neji glided out of the way and followed up with a counter-strike to Ichigo's upper arm. Ichigo just barely managed to dodge by drawing on a bit of spiritual power to increase his speed.

After that, things really started to heat up. Neji could move faster and did so without ever dropping a beat. Ichigo had the advantage in speed but just barely. He mostly dodged Neji's strikes in order to get a feel for the technique while his own punches, kicks, and jabs were easily circumnavigated by the Hyuuga. Every attack by Ichigo was turned into an opportunity for his opponent.

Neji's fighting-style was the most graceful Ichigo had ever seen. He noticed some similarities to the aikido and tai chi he had seen performed by masters, but the Hyuuga technique was so much more. It was almost a dance. The instant the thought flickered through Ichigo's head, his mind's-eye filled with memories of Rukia.

Ichigo had never seen her fight in the first few years of their acquaintance. She had advised him when Ichigo first took up the responsibilities of a shinigami. Then in Hueco Mundo, they had all been fighting their own battles. After that, well the less he thought about that long year without his powers the better, and then there had been that mess with the Wandenreich. The first time he had really seen Rukia cut loose with Sode no Shirayuki, he had been astonished by the beauty of her zanpaktou.

Neji took advantage of Ichigo's distraction. He landed a strike on Ichigo's left arm, which numbed the limb instantly. Ichigo instinctively flooded the area with reiatsu, which restored some mobility, and at the same time used Neji's proximity against him by scoring a solid blow to the gut. Accidentally using a bit too much force, Ichigo's hit lifted Neji off his feet. He landed several meters away but recovered with a somersault into a low crouch.

Neji rose unsteadily with one hand over his stomach, but he seemed ready to continue. Ichigo used the quick pause to rotate his arm. He could move it again, yet it felt odd, almost disconnected. If Neji made a few more hits like that, then Ichigo would lose fast.

The problem was if Ichigo never attacked, then Neji would eventually win. Ichigo couldn't dodge forever. That wasn't his style. He wondered if it was possible to let Neji hit him without the same suffering the devastating effect. Neji had said he was aiming for tenketsu points. Assuming those were similar to pressure points, as long as Ichigo dodged just a little bit, he could probably avoid most of the damage.

Keeping his new plan firmly in mind, Ichigo restarted the fight by flinging himself straight at Neji. The Hyuuga brought his hands up and reached for Ichigo, presumably to hit his arms again. Ichigo pushed just a little harder at the last second. Neji missed. Mostly. The open-handed slaps were still jarring, but Ichigo didn't lose any sensation this time. Still, Neji recovered in time to block Ichigo's punch, and they were off.

In the flurry of exchanges that followed, Ichigo landed at least a dozen blows, all of them punishing in their strength. Neji landed twice that many, but only five had any noticeable effect on Ichigo's body. Three were on his arms, one of those on the already affected left arm, which Ichigo could mostly ignore. Two hit his right arm. One on the lower forearm his caused him to lose almost all sensation, and one on his upper arm that caused only mild weakness. A fourth strike to his upper right side made breathing a little difficult for a while, but once Ichigo reinforced his lung with reiatsu, he was mostly fine.

The last strike from Neji that really mattered was on Ichigo's leg. The strike took Ichigo by surprise. Neji completely reversed direction in the middle of a swing, using a sharp motion at odds to his style, to hit just below Ichigo's right hip joint. Ichigo's leg collapsed underneath him, and his momentum sent him skidding across the dirt. Neji didn't hesitate and chased after the hopelessly disoriented Ichigo.

"Yield?" asked Neji holding his hands in preparation for another attack.

Ichigo recognized that in a real fight Neji could have easily struck a killing blow. "Yield."

Neji relaxed his stance. Releasing his byakugan, he held out a hand. Ichigo let the other man help him to his feet. He released a trickle of power to wake up his leg, but now that the bout was over he didn't need to flood the limb with energy. It gave him a bit of limp, but Ichigo felt that was acceptable given how he had lost.

"That was a most exciting match," said Lee. "The passions of your youth burn brightly in combat."

"Thanks," said Ichigo drily. "Thanks for the match, Hyuuga-san."

"Neji is fine," said the other man. "There are too many of us to bother with last names. Have you had experience with a similar style of combat? You adjusted quickly after we started."

"After you got my arm, you mean," said Ichigo. He considered it for a moment. "Well, when Byakuya fought the seventh espada, he could freeze Byakuya's limbs, but I only heard about that from Hanatarou afterward. I'm sure there's some zanpaktou out there with an ability like that. But I've never seen it before."

Ichigo looked up. They were all staring at him. It made him uneasy. "What?"

"What's a zanpaktou?" asked Tenten curiously while her teammates exchanged looks.

"A soul-cutting blade," said Ichigo. "It's a special tool people use back…in Soul Society."

"Like your bokken?" asked Tenten glancing over at the weapon.

Ichigo waved a hand. "No, no, that's just for practice. The hilt resembles Zangetsu's, my zanpaktou, but the sword is a lot different."

"You should bring it sometime," said Tenten. "These guys are great and all. But sometimes it's nice to practice with another weapon-user."

"Speaking of which," said Gai. "Let us return to our practice. You should rest, Ichigo, and give yourself time to recover. Lee and I will hope to put on an equally admirable display of skill."

"Yes, Gai-sensei! Ichigo's fight with Neji has renewed my dedication to the Genius of Hard-Work! I will do my best," proclaimed Lee.

"Your Flames of Youth shine bright, my student," roared Gai.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Ichigo could almost see a fiery backdrop burst into existence behind them as the two shinobi descended into their own little world. He glanced at Tenten and Neji and pointed in silent question.

"They're always like that," said Tenten. "You get used to it. Sort of."

Neji just scoffed. "C'mon, Tenten. We'll start and they'll snap out of it. Don't work, Ichigo. I didn't use too much chakra, so you should be fine in a little while."

"I thought you were holding back," said Ichigo.

Neji gave him a look. "Turns out so were you."

Ichigo settled down next to Kon as the shinobi moved on with their practice. Tenten had picked up her scroll making Ichigo curious to see what she did with it. Lee and Gai had also come back to themselves and were beginning what looked to be a high-speed taijutsu match.

"You totally lost," whispered Kon gleefully.

"He was good," said Ichigo quietly. He didn't want to draw attention to Kon just yet. "That chakra stuff must really work."

"Of course it works, moron," said Kon. "Haven't you been paying attention?"

Ichigo refrained from squashing the lion. Barely. "It's related to spiritual power somehow, but it's not the same. It'd be easier to tell if I saw someone using ninjutsu."

"You can ask Karin and Yuzu when they get back from the Academy," suggested Kon.

Ichigo frowned. "Maybe, but I think it'll be a while before they get that far."

"You could ask Naruto," suggested Kon carefully. "He's going to be hokage someday, right? That's want the old woman said. He probably knows some ninjutsu."

"I'll think about it," said Ichigo. Naruto seemed like a good guy, but Ichigo had just started getting to know his other cousins and lost them. He wasn't ready for another one just yet.

Kon looked disappointed, but Ichigo ignored him in favor of the fights happening in front of him. Had Tenten just fired weapons from that scroll?

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Iruka carefully regarded the young woman standing in front of him. Naruto had approached him days ago with crazy idea of adding his full-grown cousins to the next graduating class of the Academy. Iruka had never expected the hokage to agree—once people reached a certain age learning to manipulate chakra was all but impossible—so receiving a missive from Tsunade notifying him of two, new, _adult_ students had taken him completely by surprise. He thought that would be the biggest shock of the day. Then Naruto had appeared, escorting his cousins, and crowing about a homemade bento made by the super-talented Yuzu, and Iruka learned which of the girls was Sakura's new apprentice and which was was Anko's.

Part of him still thought they were playing an elaborate joke—he wouldn't put that sort of thing past Naruto—especially given the nervous way Yuzu was shifting from foot to foot. She kept glancing at Iruka's chunin uniform, down at her own clothes, and then over to her sister, who had completed her assessment and was now practicing a basic kata under Sora's, his co-instructor, watchful eye.

Mixed in with the other students, Karin's outfit would have been an acceptable choice for any pre-genin. She wore a shapeless, dark red shirt that she claimed resembled a soccer jersey, whatever that meant. Fingerless gloves in a matching shade supported her wrists and gave her hands some extra protection. On her lower half, she wore long black shorts with traditional hyakan over bandages to protect her lower legs. Her short hair had been pulled away from her face into a small tail, nothing like the long locks Ino and Sakura had sported as girls. Altogether, she looked much more practical than Naruto had in the bright orange jumpsuit he wore as a student.

Yuzu's outfit was a little different. She wore a dark green hooded jacket with long sleeves to cover her arms. She had foregone gloves like her sister's in favor of wrapping her hands and fingers. Instead of shorts, she wore slightly longer capris that were made of durable black fabric. Over those she had a light-grey apron. With short-cropped hair clipped back out of her eyes, Yuzu looked more like a cook than a shinobi. Though with that color scheme, she would blend in quite nicely with the surrounding forest, something most new genin rarely considered.

"Is this okay?" she asked hesitantly. "Naruto said wearing something we felt comfortable in was more important than having a uniform while we're training, but…" She trailed off looking despondent.

"No, he's right," Iruka hastened to reassure her. "You just don't see many shinboi wearing aprons."

"Well, Anko-san was talking about all this stuff shinobi have to carry, and I know where everything is in my apron," explained a blushing Yuzu.

"That's true," agreed Iruka. He glanced at the front pocket. It looked empty, but what she chose to carry would say a lot about her personality. "What do you have in there?"

Yuzu stuck her hands in the pockets and started pulling things out: some tissues, a coin purse, lip balm, a bit of string, a whistle, a needle and thread, some buttons, a few safety pins, extra bandages, a blunted kunai, a set of kitchen knives, a pair of bento, a solid length of rope. Iruka gaped in astonishment as she reached for more.

"Where are you getting all of it?" he demanded.

Yuzu started to put everything back. "Well, Anko mentioned all this stuff, and I thought 'I'm not sure where I can keep all that,' but then I remembered that Naruto had shown us how to use storage seals. I picked up some really small ones when we finished shopping yesterday, and I sewed them into my apron last night. See?"

She opened the pocket a little wider so he could take a look, and Iruka saw that there were, in fact, dozens of tiny storage seals sewed into the fabric. Keeping track of everything in each seal took a sharp mind, and to have so much control that, after a few days of practice at most, she could activate just one of those seals at time was phenomenal and a little frightening.

"Why the kunai and the kitchen knives?" Iruka asked curious.

Yuzu smiled, happy to explain. "Tatsuki—my brother's friend—opened a dojo back in Karakura. She gave me and Karin free lessons. She said it's always important to know how to use what's around you if you have to defend yourself, and I do most of the cooking, so…"

"That's very good," said Iruka. That meant the sisters had more raining than he initially thought. With extra training from their respective tutors, they should catch up to the rest of the class quickly.

Putting those thoughts aside for the moment, he returned to the matter at hand and gestured at the obstacle course. "Now, this is a test to gauge your physical ability not your combat ability. So what sort of experience do you have?"

"Eating right and exercise is important to maintain a healthy body," said Yuzu firmly like she was reciting a lecture. "So I got up and ran ten miles every day before the clinic opened and every afternoon I did an aerobic kick-boxing routine Tatsuki designed, but I haven't been doing that since we…moved to Konoha. I'm not really athletic like Karin and Ichi-nii."

Iruka wondered what the requirements were for athletes in her homeland. Karin had played soccer in high school and college, and her speed, dexterity, and stamina were on par with that of the average chunin. Then again, if they were from a very peaceful village, perhaps their athletes were the ones with the training rather than their warriors. He would have to ask, later.

"Ten miles every day is very impressive for a civilian, and you'll be sure to improve the more you practice," said Iruka kindly. "Now, this is what you'll need to do…"

Iruka took careful notes on what he saw as Yuzu completed the obstacle course. It wasn't the most complicated of runs, but he hadn't given the girls the course for beginning students either. Yuzu was not as fast as her sister, who might have set a new speed record for a first attempt, but she didn't slow down at all, which spoke highly of her stamina. She wobbled a bit on her landings, which meant more core exercises in her future, but her agility on the log jumps was quite good. She raced up the rope like a pro, something most women had trouble with. After her last sprint to Iruka, she was panting but not too badly.

"Was that alright?" she asked.

Iruka smiled reassuringly. "There are a few things we can work on, but you're off to a good start." And sensing she needed the compliment added, "Your upper arm strength was quite good for a woman your age."

Yuzu struck a "strong man" pose. "I had to carry all the groceries home by myself the last few years, even the heavy ones. And I helped daddy with some of the more difficult patients at the clinic."

Iruka felt a bead of sweat form at his temple. This was the girl they wanted for T&I? But, according to rumor, she had hauled Anko off the ground with an iron chain. Iruka didn't see any chains, but who knew what she was carrying in that apron? He would have to double-check with Anko. The kunoichi would want a progress report soon this anyway.

"Now let's review the kata that Sora-sensei showed you earlier," he began. "Yuzu, is there something wrong?"

Yuzu had dropped out of her pose and was staring into the distance toward the wall surrounding Konohagakure and, more importantly, the gates. Her cheerful expression had shifted to worry. A quick glance at Karin in the other group proved she had done the same.

"What is it?" asked Iruka.

"Something's happened to Ichi-nii," said Yuzu. "He's…really mad."

Iruka frowned. Naruto had said the older brother was out with Team Gai. The taijutsu team had their moments, but he doubted they would have intentionally angered the oldest Kurosaki sibling, especially not enough to drive him out of the village. How did Yuzu know, anyway?

"Are you sure?" asked Iruka.

Yuzu nodded. "I can feel it all the way over here. Ichi-nii hasn't gotten made like that in a long time. I wonder what happened. Should I go check?"

"No," said Iruka sharply. "You stay here. I'll send a runner to the hokage and she can dispatch a team. If something is wrong, then we need to know where you are."

Yuzu's worried expression remained locked in place, but she nodded in acceptance. Iruka flagged down one of the teaching assistants, who was watching a similar, louder argument play out between Sora and Karin, and sent the shinobi off to the Tower. Iruka still didn't know how the girls knew there was a problem, but he wasn't about to lose one of Naruto's new-found cousins through inaction. Not now. Not ever.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kon wasn't sure exactly what happened. One minute, Ichigo was walking back to the apartment after parting ways with Team Gai. The next, Ichigo was passed out on the ground and unfamiliar shinobi were emerging from the shadows. The mod-soul lay extra still and watched as Ichigo was rolled into a carpet and loaded onto the back of nearby cart. There were five guys that Kon could see. Two were driving the cart, and the other three did the heavy work.

Kon considered his chances against five ninja. As plush doll, he could maybe take out one using surprise and his normal enhancements. He had decided years ago to switch from the super-body created by Twelfth Division to the ordinary one made by Ishida as a replacement for Yuzu's Bostov. He hadn't wanted creepy scientists watching everything he saw. Until now, he had never regretted his decision. He needed to find back-up and find it fast.

As soon at the cart disappeared, Kon leapt to his feet and raced toward the Hokage Tower. His skill at reiryoku-sensing wasn't as fine-tuned as Ichigo's. He'd normally have terrible luck at finding a single person. Fortunately, he already had a general direction and the added benefit of being exposed to this particular person recently. His speed was nowhere near as efficient as it would be in a human body, but he was still fast and reached the mission office in about ten minutes.

There were dozens of ninja around briefly overwhelming Kon's senses. No single shinobi, not even the hokage, had reiatsu as powerful as Ichigo's though Naruto seemed to come close. But for some reason, they all had at least a little and the higher ranked shinobi had quite a lot. Unfortunately, none of them had any control at all. It was enough to make a poor mod-soul's head spin. A flash of white and red caught his eye. Kon whirled in time to catch sight of hair-buns moving through the crowd.

"Tenten!" he cried racing toward the kunoichi.

The woman paused at hearing her name and the men with her paused too. She looked around frowning.

"Tenten!" Kon cried again. "Lee! Neji! Gai!"

The shinobi turned and looked down. Not many people thought to look down in Kon's experience. But then again, he was very new at dealing with ninja.

"Kon?" asked Tenten. Disbelief was spreading across her face. "How?"

"Ichigo's been kidnapped!" yelled Kon dancing up and down in excitement and fear. "You've got to help him!"

"Someone has kidnapped, Ichigo?" exclaimed Lee. "Where?"

Kon thanked his lucky stars. The shinobi's brain did work like Ichigo's. A friend in trouble meant providing aid no matter the source of the information.

"These guys caught Ichigo outside our apartment and rolled him up in a carpet. They went," Kon turned back. He let his senses stretch out. It wasn't hard to find Ichigo, not after a near decade spent in his company. He pointed. "That way."

"That's one of the main gates," said Neji activating his byakugan. "They're out of my range."

"Let's go," ordered Gai.

Gai took the lead. Lee and Neji followed behind him. Tenten prepared to go after them but paused. She looked at Kon and held out a hand. The plush lion jumped into her open palm and then up onto her shoulder. He grabbed the edge of her ear and used a bit of reiatsu to make sure he wouldn't fall off mid-leap.

"Ready," he said.

"This is so weird," muttered Tenten.

She jumped, and they were very nearly flying. Despite his concern for Ichigo, Kon couldn't help but appreciate the feeling. He had been designed with super leg-strength—three times the power of whatever body he happened to be possessing at the time. Ichigo was fit by the standards of Japanese. He was even fairly strong compared to the average resident of this world. But his greatest strength and speed all belonged to his spiritual form. Briefly, Kon imagined the heights he could reach in the body of a trained shinobi. It would be fantastic.

In a matter of minutes, much less time than it would have taken lion-shaped-Kon, the team reached the gates. The kidnappers with the rug-cart weren't there. Gai checked in with the guard station while the rest of team scanned the carts approaching the gate.

"They've already gone through," Kon informed him. He could feel Ichigo getting further away. "They can't be that far down the road."

"Are you sure?" asked Tenten making an aborted turn of her head. Neji was switching his attention between Kon and the various groups seeking to leave Konoha. Lee was watching the road anxiously.

"Are you kidding?" asked Kon. "Ichigo's out-of-it against his will. His control is shot. I'm surprised you can't feel it."

Gai signaled them to join him at the gate and they started to run. "The guards say a pair of merchants selling antique carpets left less than fifteen minutes ago. The fabric would have been more than sufficient to hide a person."

The group of four pounded down the road at top speed. Kon hung on gamely to Tenten's shoulder and tried not to be a nuisance. If she needed to fight, he could jump off without a problem. He just didn't want to see Ichigo hurt now that the former shinigami was beginning to open up to people again. Knowing the shinobi of Konoha trusted Kon enough to rely on his word to rescue Ichigo, well, that had to mean something.

The five men who took down Ichigo had increased to fourteen by the time Team Gai reached the cart. The kidnappers had seen the team approaching and arranged themselves in defensive positions around the vehicle. The one in front formed some symbols with his hands, shouted a phrase that Kon didn't recognize, and touched the ground.

Spikes shot out of the earth, but Team Gai must have expected that because they easily jumped the obstacle. The fireball that came flying at them while they were in midair might have been a problem, but Neji managed to do some sort of swirling thing with his arms that knocked the attack to the side. Kon couldn't exactly follow the fight afterward. There was a lot of yelling and fire and rocks and knives being tossed around. He was getting a firsthand look at ninjutsu up-close and personal and not liking one minute of it. He _did_ notice when Ichigo finally regained consciousness, but everyone noticed that.

The atmosphere turned heavy and dark starting around the cart and flooding out in every direction. All of the shinobi, Konoha-nin and kidnapper alike, froze in shock and turned to stare. Kon whimpered into Tenten's hair. That was Ichigo's Hollow-power.

Ichigo, like most of Soul Society, thought his Hollow abilities had disappeared after his fight with Aizen. It wasn't until Ichigo entered university and in the middle of exams had irritation spike into true anger that he realized the truth. Like Rukia's zanpaktou, Ichigo's Hollow had left an impression on his soul, a path for his spiritual power to follow when the circumstances were right. Away from Karakura, Ichigo hadn't felt the need to bother any of his friends in Soul Society with his problem—this was before Kukaku had started him on her training regimen—and had sought to finally master his Hollow power on his own.

Ichigo, who had never learned the word impossible, succeeded in record time and had never quite gotten around to telling anyone about it. No one other than Kon, at least, who had been privy to furniture-destroying fits of rage mixed with bouts of dark depression as Ichigo finally confronted his darkest feelings. The advantage to Ichigo's Hollow powers were that Ichigo could use all of them without leaving his body. Isshin _had_ taught Ichigo a technique for summoning Zangetsu that meant he didn't have to leave his body for every little fight. But it had limitations. Ichigo could only use shikai for so long before the strain became too much, and he couldn't use bankai at all without potentially vaporizing his own body. Ichigo's Hollow reiryoku didn't cause him the same sort of trouble. He just had to be truly angry or deeply afraid—or one time, really, really hungry—for his Hollow powers to work.

At the moment, Kon suspected Ichigo was furious.

The right side of the cart exploded. Ichigo's outstretched arm hit the shinobi guarding that side and split his head like a melon. There was a tearing sound as Ichigo's other arm ripped through the heavy roll of carpet above him. With enough room to move, Ichigo freed himself from his Persian prison to stand in the center of the cart.

His eyes were gold-on-black as he absorbed the fighters. There was no mask yet, which was good and meant his thinking was still mostly human, but at this stage Ichigo's usual reservations were gone, which was bad. Humans without inhibitions could be worse than Hollows at times. Case in point, Ichigo raised a hand and casually fired balas at the remainder of would-be kidnappers, killing all of them instantly. Then he turned his attention to the drivers of the cart.

One of them screamed when he met Ichigo's eyes. The other just stared, his face white with fear. Ichigo raised his hand again.

"Sai!"

The drivers' arms snapped behind their backs, and they toppled off the seat, one to each side. Kon let out a quiet sigh of relief. Ichigo rarely killed humans. He usually didn't need to. But once he started, it was hard to stop.

"Ichigo, are you alright?" asked Lee. No surprise that he was the first to recover.

"I'm fine," said Ichigo as he hopped off the cart.

"Are you sure?" asked Kon safely tucked away on Tenten's shoulder. "You still look a little tense, if you know what I mean."

Ichigo paused and closed his eyes. The malicious aura that was Ichigo's Hollow reiatsu faded. When he opened his eyes again, they were back to his normal brown and looking weary. That was good enough for Kon. He jumped from Tenten's shoulder to Ichigo's and gave the human a reassuring pat on the head. Ichigo huffed in irritated reply.

"Much better," said Kon. "So what did these guys want?"

"I don't know," said Ichigo. "They weren't real though."

"What did you say?" asked Gai.

Ichigo nodded toward the stunned cart-drivers on the ground. "Those two were the only humans. The rest of these are fake. Like gigai. Badly made gigai."

"Gigai?" asked Tenten hesitantly.

Ichigo didn't have to explain. While all the shinobi he had taken down with bala were mostly gone, the ones Team Gai had dispatched suddenly collapsed leaving behind puddles of stinking black goo.

Kon wrinkled his nose. Yuck.

"You will explain," said Neji. "How did you activate a dojutsu, escape from the cart, and use ninjutsu without using chakra?"

Kon could feel the tension in Ichigo sky-rocket. Apparently, some of the feeling must have shown on Ichigo's face because Gai stepped between the two. Ichigo was by no means short, but Gai was very tall. Tall enough to look like a responsible adult stepping between two children, even if all three were really grown men. He looked to the shinobi first.

"Neji, that's enough. Report the intrusion to the Hokage," ordered Gai. "We will bring the prisoners and follow along behind."

The Hyuuga didn't bother to acknowledge his orders. He simply took off at top speed back to Konohagakure. Lee and Tenten both moved to the cart to secure the drivers. Gai turned his attention to Ichigo.

"You do not have to tell me anything you do not want to," said Gai. "But you will have to tell the hokage. The safety of the village is at stake. Your safety. And potentially that of your sisters, as well. Do you understand?"

Ichigo's pulse jumped at the mention of his sisters but quickly steadied again. Ichigo really had gotten a lot better at everything. This close to the village, he could probably sense their exact locations.

"Yeah," said Ichigo hoarsely. "I understand."

Lee and Tenten both carried an unconscious man over their shoulders. They had bound their hands and legs with cord, but Kon knew the arm-restraints at least were unnecessary. Ichigo had been super-mad when he cast that kidou. It would take days to fade on its own.

"How fast can you move?" asked Gai.

"Fast," said Ichigo.

"Then let us hurry," said Gai in a dark voice. "I have heard of no new threat against Konoha, and I fear we have little time to waste."

-0-0-0-0-0-

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ichigo showed off a lot in this chapter, and Kon got to save the day, sort of.

Somebody asked for descriptions about appearances because there weren't any. Two reasons for that. One, I'm not very good at describing people or what things look like. Two, I had to pick out the Kurosakis' ninja clothes. They're still learning to be ninja, so their styles might change in the future, but for now those will be their outfits. Those super-fun descriptions included, out of necessity, some Japanese words which I found through use of wikipedia:

Hyakan: shin-guards traditionally worn by samurai, but also worn as gaiters by other classes

Waraji: woven sandals, basically the sandals Ichigo wears in his shinigami form

Geta: raised wooden sandals. Urahara ("Geta-boshi" or "Hat'n'clogs") wears these in Bleach, and they seem to be standard for most shinobi in Naruto (though a few are seen wearing slippers instead).

Thanks for reading. I do appreciate all of your comments and suggestions.


	6. Chapter 6

Soul of Fire

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tsunade glared over her desk at the group of shinobi—and one civilian—her irritation growing by the second. She had been in a meeting with Naruto, Kakashi, and Shikamaru, who had recently been promoted to Jounin Commander after his father's retirement, about the trouble Team Taka had countered just outside the Land of Fire's borders. None of them had recognized the technique used to incapacitate Karin, though she had eventually recovered, or the one that had destroyed the attackers' bodies. They were debating the merits of issuing a recall order versus sending out a support team when a messenger from the Academy appeared.

Karin and Yuzu had claimed their brother was in trouble. They had "sensed" something wrong with him even though Ichigo was presumably practicing with Team Gai. Naruto was willing to accept that explanation reminding her of the Kurosakis' ability to sense the kyuubi's reiatsu from a great distance away. Tsunade had been about to dispatch Kakashi and Naruto to track down Ichigo, when Neji appeared with another message.

Ichigo had been kidnapped just outside of his apartment. Team Gai had been alerted by Kon, who apparently _could_ move and talk independently, and immediately headed-out in pursuit. After catching up to the kidnappers, Team Gai had engaged in combat. Before they could dispatch the enemy shinobi, Ichigo had shaken off the technique used to disable him and killed his remaining attackers using an unfamiliar jutsu leaving only the two cart drivers alive.

According to Neji's report, the kidnappers had moved like shinobi while alive but shortly after death had dissolved into something barely more than sludge. His description matched that provided by Team Taka about the fate of their attackers. Tsunade refused to think it was a coincidence.

Now that Team Gai had escorted Ichigo to the Tower, and handed over the drivers to the welcoming arms of T&I, Tsunade wanted answers. Unfortunately, she doubted any of her shinobi could provide resolution.

She gave Ichigo another careful once-over. Tsunade had examined him for injuries when he arrived, but oddly enough he seemed to have none at all, despite breaking through the side of a sturdy, wooden cart with his arm and sparring with Team Gai before that. In addition, he was the most relaxed out of everyone in the office despite being the victim. Once he learned his sisters were safe, any and all remaining traces of anger had drained away completely. Her shinobi were nowhere near as calm and for good reason.

"Why did this happen?" demanded Tsunade. "Where the hell was ANBU?"

Shikamaru was frowning. "Last check-in was at five hundred hours during the shift-change. The next scheduled check-in is at eleven hundred hours, eighty minutes from now. There's been no distress signal or indication of any problem."

"There wasn't anyone outside when I left this morning," said Ichigo. "I thought that was a little weird."

Tsunade scowled. "When was that?"

"Five fifty," said Ichigo.

Tsunade signaled Shikamaru, who nodded in acknowledgment. They would be sending a team to search for the bodies of the missing ANBU. She returned her attention to Ichigo.

"If you can sense the reiatsu," she formed the unfamiliar word carefully, "of nearby shinobi, then why didn't you notice your kidnappers?"

Ichigo scowled and crossed his arms. "Like I said earlier, they weren't really people. You don't sense the reiatsu of trees or rocks when you walk by. I'd have to be super-sensitive to notice something like that."

Tsunade turned her attention to the lion doll, who was trying to hide in Ichigo's hair and failing. "What about him?"

"Kon?" asked Ichigo. "He's worse than me. He's designed to sense Hollows, and they really stand out."

Tsunade let it go. If Kurosaki couldn't sense their reiatsu and Karin couldn't sense their chakra, they would have to try other measures to catch the kidnappers. Her hand wavered over the report from Team Taka.

"Another Konoha team was attacked under similar circumstances," she said finally. "The Uzumaki member of the team also collapsed but did not regain consciousness for several hours. How did you recover so quickly?"

Ichigo's scowl deepened and he glanced at the Hyuuga. "In our fight earlier, Neji cut off the chakra to my arm, so I couldn't move it anymore. I had to reinforce my arm with reiatsu to be able to move it again. Whatever those guys did felt a lot like that, only all over."

"Is that a technique you could teach to our shinobi?" asked Tsunade.

"I'm not sure," said Ichigo. His scowl shifted into a thoughtful frown. "Everyone I've seen in the Elemental Countries has above average reiatsu, but no one uses it directly. Usually you have to be born with the ability to manipulate reiryoku. Sometimes people's circumstances can change, but that usually takes exposure to strong reiatsu over a long period of time. Maybe anyone Naruto's close to? Or people who live near the empty spaces in the village? It's not something I would rely on in your situation."

It took a minute for Tsunade to understand what he was saying, then it clicked. Anyone close to Naruto would have been exposed to the, supposedly, massive reiatsu of the kyuubi. The empty spaces in the village were areas flooded by demonic chakra on the night of Naruto's birth. They were still considered unlivable more than twenty years later.

"No," agreed Tsunade regretfully. They would need to find another solution.

In the corner, Kakashi raised a hand. "A question, hokage-sama." He looked at Ichigo. "If the kidnappers were already in place when you left, why didn't they attack you then? Or go for your sisters?"

"I left too fast," said Ichigo, which explained nothing. He scowled again at the mention of his sisters. "The apartment is warded. They probably couldn't reach Karin and Yuzu until they went outside, and they left with Naruto."

"If the attack is designed to incapacitate Uzumaki only, then why not attack Naruto and the girls when they left the apartment?" asked Shikamaru lazily.

"Maybe it can only be used on one person at a time?" offered Kakashi.

"Maybe they knew it wouldn't work on me," countered Naruto. "I mean, if it's like the Hyuuga-style, then I could use Kurama's chakra to overpower it. That's what I did in the Chunin Exams against Neji."

Shikamaru frowned. "That's possible. But not many people know that's what happened back then."

As the gathered shinobi descended into debate, Tsunade listened in with one ear and devote most her attention to studying Ichigo once more. He truly didn't seem bothered by the attempted kidnapping; that was the amazing thing. Perhaps it was because he had not actually needed a rescue in order to escape, or perhaps he was accustomed to assaults from unknown attackers. Naruto mentioned that Ichigo had been in several battles in his original dimension.

Tsunade itched with the desire to know more, but she had deliberately left asking those sorts of questions to Naruto. She had to rely on reports from ANBU and shinobi like Team Gai, who had significant interactions with Kurosaki. But, noting the frown on Ichigo's face, as long as he was in her office, she could ask him about the attack at least.

"Is there a problem, Kurosaki?" she asked cutting through the building argument.

Kurosaki's frown shifted briefly to surprise. "People would notice if Naruto went missing, right? Karin and Yuzu too, since they have responsibilities here. But if I disappeared, my sisters would be upset, but it wouldn't be the same sort of thing to everyone else. And the other person who was attacked, that had to have happened a long way from Konoha or somebody would have mentioned it earlier. I was just the obvious choice."

Ichigo clearly underestimated how much energy Naruto had invested in keeping his cousins—all three of them—in Konoha. Still he had a valid point.

"The simplest explanation is often best," agreed Tsunade. Though with shinobi, things were rarely that straightforward. "We will be exploring all possibilities until we discover who is responsible." She paused. "Kurosaki, wait outside. Naruto can escort you to the Academy in a moment."

Ichigo gave a quick bow and left the office closing the door behind him. Tsunade looked at the remaining shinobi in her office. Shikamaru, Naruto, Kakashi, all of Team Gai stared back waiting for orders.

"Increase the ANBU guard on the Kurosakis. Also, I want a visible shinobi companion whenever one of them goes out in public. Team Gai, if you would provide this function for Ichigo. Kakashi, you, Yamato, or Sai, will be responsible for the girls. Naruto, if you could continue to escort the girls to the Academy in the morning. Inform Iruka that Sakura and Anko will personally retrieve Karin and Yuzu at the end of each day at least for the time being. Are there any questions?"

Neji stepped forward. "Hokage-sama, about the abilities Ichigo used to kill the kidnappers, he did not use chakra despite using an unfamiliar ninjutsu."

"That was undoubtedly an attack that Kurosaki learned in his homeland," said Tsunade. "You are aware by now that Kurosaki has some military training even though he is not a shinobi. This is part of the reason why he and his sisters are currently seeking asylum in Konohagakure. You do not need to be alarmed."

Tenten also stepped forward. "Hokage-sama, after the attack, Ichigo identified his kidnappers as gigai, a term I did not recognize. He also said they were badly made."

Tsunade had heard the term before. Or, at least she had read it in Uzumaki Mamoru's journal. Gigai were false bodies that shinigami stationed long-term in the Living World used to interact with humans, most of whom could not see spiritual beings. The man who fathered the Kurosakis siblings had to be inhabiting a gigai meaning they were fairly anatomically accurate. Tsunade would love to get her hands on one, just to see how it was made.

"Gigai refers to a false body," said Tsunade simply. "They are used primarily by the forces in Soul Society, their father's homeland."

"Is it possible, Tsunade-sama, that the attackers are from this Soul Society and that they went after Sasuke's Karin by mistake?" asked Shikamaru.

Tsunade shook her head. "Even if it were possible for those people to come here, and given the method the Kurosakis used that is extremely unlikely, then both the reports from Team Gai and Team Taka mentioned deliberate use of ninjutsu by the kidnappers. Observations by Uzumaki Mamoru indicate that it is impossible for any from Soul Society _or_ his wife's homeland to use chakra. That the Kurosakis are capable of doing so is because an Uzumaki was their grandfather."

"I see," said Shikamaru.

Tsunade knew he didn't really see. He lacked the necessary information. But she could see the wheels spinning behind the Nara's eyes as he started compiling a mental file on the mysterious new additions to Konoha. She would love to know what conclusions that genius brain would draw about Naruto's new family. She doubted even Shikamaru could come up with the truth.

Tsunade slammed a fist on the desk, which groaned in protest. "We are dealing with an outside attack on the Uzumaki residents of Konohagakure. This is an insult to our shinobi, to our future hokage, and to me." She, too, had Uzumaki blood even if her clan name was Senju. "We must find the perpetrators as quickly as possible. Dimissed."

The shinobi saluted and disappeared until Tsunade was alone in the office. She stared at the heavy wood door. Naruto was out there in the lobby talking to Ichigo. If she listened, she could make out what they were saying. Tsunade didn't bother. If there was anything important, Naruto or Shizune, who was acting as her secretary, would tell her.

Tsunade ached all over. Emotional pain was causing her physical distress. She was growing old. She had planned to pass on the hat to Naruto soon and take over running the hospital. Now, Tsunade feared she had waited too long. She wasn't ready for another war, and a deliberate attack against the Uzumaki, when Naruto was now the most famous shinobi bearing that name, could mean nothing else. It was her hope that by taking action now, they could stop this newest plot before it was too late. They would have to wait and see.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Naruto had escorted Ichigo to the Academy to reassure his sisters that he was fine and to update Iruka about the new arrangements in light of the attempted kidnapping. Walking down the road from the Acadmy to the Kurosakis' apartment, Naruto snuck another look at his cousin. They could have taken the roof-top path. Lee had mentioned Ichigo's superior athletic skill, and Ichigo had confirmed it was well within his abilities, but Naruto wanted the extra time to reassure himself his cousin was okay.

Naruto hadn't spent that much time in Ichigo's company. About an hour that first day the Kurosaki's arrived in Konoha. Then longer at the dinner on Friday, but he had spent most of that time learning about the Kurosakis' circumstances rather than about his cousins. A very short exchange the following Sunday, when Ichigo had somehow tracked him down and informed Naruto that they were staying, gave him a paper "key" to their apartment, and asked how Karin should go about applying to the hospital.

Sakura had informed him about accepting Karin as a student that following Monday afternoon, so he had completely missed Anko storming the Hokage Tower with Yuzu in tow and her siblings following on their heels. Though Kakashi had painted a very exciting picture when reciting the events there and in the dango shop for Naruto's benefit. This morning, Ichigo had been off to sparring with Lee when Naruto reached the apartment.

All-in-all, the Kurosakis had been there for about a week, and Naruto had only a few hours of face time with any of them. That hadn't been near enough time for Naruto to learn anything really important. Sure, they had told him all about their flight from their original dimension, but they almost had to tell him that. But he hadn't had a chance to get to know them.

For example, now Naruto could see that he and Ichigo were almost the same height—Naruto was just a bit taller in his raised sandals—and that they had the same lean build despite their respective training. Furthermore, Ichigo didn't move like a shinobi, probably because he was accustomed to wearing his bokken, though sometimes when he stood, it was a bit like Gaara, who carried his heavy gourd around on his back, and yet Ichigo's walk was perfectly silent. Who had taught him that?

And, why did Ichigo scowl all the time? Naruto had seen all manner of scowls and frowns and thoughtful looks on his cousin's face but not one smile. It reminded him, depressingly, of Sasuke as a child. Though Ichigo didn't seem to radiate the same arrogance that Sasuke carried as the last of the Uchiha. Karin scowled like Ichigo, but she smiled some of the time. Yuzu was almost always smiling, which Naruto could appreciate. But he still didn't know why.

They hadn't had very much time to learn about Naruto either, he reflected. They might have heard about him from other people in the street, but since they used the name Kurosaki rather than Uzumaki, most people wouldn't think of them as relatives, at least not yet. Naruto hadn't been able to talk about growing up alone in Konoha or how excited he was to have new relatives. And he definitely hadn't been able to keep them safe, even though he had promised.

"I'm sorry," blurted Naruto.

Ichigo turned his head to regard Naruto seriously, and the lion doll, Kon, peeked around his head too look too.

"Oh?" asked Ichigo. "What about?"

Naruto blushed crimson in shame. "I told you I would keep you safe in Konoha, and I haven't been able to do that. You were attacked here because of me. Because you are also Uzumaki."

"That's not your fault," said Ichigo firmly.

Naruto stared. Ichigo turned his face back to the road, but he kept going. "It's not your fault that they're after us here because we're Uzumaki. We would have used that name somewhere else eventually. So you can't blame yourself for that."

"But, I promised to protect you," protested Naruto.

"I know," said Ichigo. "But I also know that you're doing your best right now. And that you said the people of Konoha protect each other. That doesn't mean we should just sit back and rely on you for everything."

Naruto felt the hot pinpricks of tears in the corners of his eyes. He quickly blinked them away. "But I—

"I know what it's like to blame yourself for not being able to protect someone," said Ichigo. "So don't worry about it. You didn't fail, okay?"

Naruto swallowed around the lump in his throat. "Thanks."

They completed the rest of the walk to the apartment in silence. His cousin had given no indication of what he really felt other than his eternal scowl, so Naruto decided accept his words as they were intended. Internally, Naruto's emotions wavered between grateful, embarrassed, and angry—not at Ichigo but at himself. He would definitely do his best to keep his new cousins safe.

At the apartment building, they both stopped and looked up. Ichigo and his sister lived on the fourth floor. It wouldn't take too long to walk up the stairs, but now that the proverbial cat was out of the bag, there were much faster ways to get there.

"Race you to the top?" offered Naruto.

Ichigo smirked, which was a slight improvement over the scowl. "It'll be a short race."

Naruto grinned. "Then it doesn't matter that I'll win." He formed the ram seal for shunshin and disappeared into a swirl of leaves.

Leaning over the rail in front of the Kurosaki's door, Naruto checked to see what Ichigo would do and promptly pulled in order to avoid a head-to-head collision when the other man jumped straight up. Ichigo landed on the railing. He was still scowling but there was an amused glint behind his eyes.

"You cheated," said Ichigo.

"Ninja," countered Naruto brightly.

Naruto watched with interest as Ichigo pulled out a slip of paper, identical to the key he had given Naruto, and wrapped it around the doorknob before opening the door. There really must be some sort of protection on the apartment. Naruto remembered the torn paper on the back of the door and wondered if it was anything like the Sealing Art he had learned from Jiraiya.

"Ouch! Kon!" snapped Ichigo.

Naruto refocused on his cousin. There was a tiny paw-shaped mark on the side of Ichigo's face. Apparently, the doll had slapped him.

"Do you want to come inside?" offered Ichigo. "The guys in masks are back, if you have something you need to do. But if you want…"

He trailed off uncertainly. Naruto pounced on the idea.

"No, that'd be cool," he said. "Thanks."

"Sure," said Ichigo.

After a quick scan of the nearby rooftops confirming the ANBU were back in place, Naruto followed his cousin inside. A piece of paper was back up on the door. The symbols on it were completely unfamiliar to Naruto. A closer looked showed that symbols weren't limited to the door. There were similar ones all around the door frame in ink that matched the color of the walls. More symbols lined the baseboards, again in matching ink. Naruto suspected they ran around the entire apartment.

"Is this the same ward you had up the other day?" asked Naruto.

"It's a different one," said Ichigo. "I had to modify it a little, so it wouldn't hurt people who just tried to knock and didn't come inside. Um, do mind if I take a shower real quick? You can look around or have some tea, if you want."

Naruto hastily assured him it was fine. A practice with Team Gai—which Naruto had only tried once and only because of a dare from Sakura—could drive a shinobi to live in the shower. Add in kidnapping and Ichigo was probably feeling pretty gross.

As Ichigo retreated to the bathroom for his shower, Naruto started a pot of tea and poked around the living room. At some point since Naruto's last visit, the Kurosakis had added low, black bookshelves to every wall. They were stuffed full of scrolls and books, which Naruto suspected were from Uzumaki Mamoru, though there were a few with unfamiliar titles that were possibly from Japan. There was also a low coffee table, in place of the long one they had used for the dinner, and a handful of cushions stacked in a corner.

Naruto was happy to see his miniature tree was green and thriving beneath the Uzumaki spiral on the bookshelf on that side of the room. The bouquet Sakura brought was gone, but a dried blossom from each type of flower was resting artfully in the gravel of the shallow dish. Besides that, there were still only a few other decorations.

Hanging from the wall bearing the Kurosaki cross were the longbow and quiver Ichigo had retrieved after the first interview with Tsunade. The bow looked well used and traditionally made though the arrows appeared to be a different sort of material. Naruto thought it probably wasn't Ichigo's preferred weapon, since he carried the bokken with him at every opportunity. Archery wasn't a traditional shinobi art given how easily a wind release jutsu could knock an arrow off course.

Naruto's real interest lay in the small cluster of photographs beneath the Shiba spiral. He carefully picked up the first frame. It was family photograph: a very young Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin along with two adults who had to be their parents. All five were smiling happily.

The second photo was more recent. Ichigo and his father were standing with Karin and Yuzu, who were in some sort of uniform. A graduation ceremony? They were all smiling again but a little less broadly. Clearly, Kurosaki Masaki's presence was still missed. Naruto wondered when exactly she had died.

The third photo was bizarre, though Naruto was sure that it would make sense in context. Yuzu and Karin, older than the first photo, younger than the second, were posing with two other children—a sad-looking girl in black pigtails and a boy with fiery red hair. There was also a much older man in a purple costume and, near the bottom, Kon casting a victory sign with his tiny paw. He quickly set that one back down.

The final photo was hidden slightly behind the other three. It was full of people. Most of them wore a black uniform and some wore white haori. A few in the front had clothes similar to what Ichigo and his sisters usually wore, but Ichigo was in the photo too and he had a similar black uniform. He was scowling at the camera, but Naruto could tell he was repressing a smile. The reactions from the rest of the people were mixed. Some were smiling, some were frowning, and some were looking at the camera with expressions of intense curiosity like they had never seen one before.

"Yuzu took that in Soul Society."

Naruto started, nearly snapping the photo frame. He turned and saw Kon. The little doll was looking at the picture with sad eyes.

"Oh?" asked Naruto looking back at the photo.

"She and Karin only visited Seireitei a couple of times, but she took that when she was experimenting with photography," explained Kon. "If you didn't have any spiritual power, you would only be able to see the humans."

"The ones not in black are the humans?" asked Naruto.

Kon jumped onto Naruto's arm. He didn't weigh very much, which was fine, and he had no chakra to speak of, which was strange for a creature that talked and moved. Even the puppets used by Suna-nin had some chakra. Kon pointed at the picture.

"That's Inoue Orihime. She was one of Ichigo's classmates back in Karakura. She had a huge crush on Ichigo, but he was totally oblivious. Next to her is Arisawa Tatsuki. She didn't get her powers until the war was over, but she's a karate champion and Ichigo's oldest friend. That big guy there is Yasutora Sado. He and Ichigo got attacked by every thug in Karakura at least once and won every time. That guy in glasses is Ishida Uryu. He and his dad are the last of the Quincy. That shinigami next to Ichigo, the one with the purple eyes, she's Kuchiki Rukia. She was the first shinigami that Ichigo ever met, the one that started the whole thing."

Naruto stared at the photograph looking at these lost pieces of Ichigo's life. There were so many people, and Ichigo could never see any of them again.

There was the sound of soft footfalls in the corridor. Naruto quickly put the photo back and turned around. Ichigo wandered out of the hall wearing a clean green t-shirt with an unfamiliar logo and a pair of the strange blue pants. He narrowed his eyes and glanced between Naruto and Kon.

"You two look suspicious," he muttered.

"Ninja," said Naruto with a grin.

Ichigo's scowl was dubious. "That's not going to work forever."

Ichigo continued on into the kitchenette. Naruto and Kon exchanged vaguely guilty glances and scooted away from the bookshelf. After a series of clacks and bangs and a faint curse, Ichigo emerged carrying two mugs of green tea and a plate of rice crackers.

"It's not much," said Ichigo as he set the food on the coffee table. "We aren't really stocked for entertaining."

"It's great," said Naruto quickly catching on and snagging a pair of cushions.

Ichigo's doubtful expression said it all.

"It's way better than anything I have at my apartment," said Naruto. "That place is a mess. All scrolls and ink wells and take-out. I should really clean it up."

"Don't tell Yuzu," said Ichigo. "She'll just worry and lecture you about eating right."

Naruto laughed. "Ah, Sakura-chan does the same thing, except she'd use her fists."

"_That_ sounds like Karin," said Ichigo. "She doesn't hold back if she thinks you've done something wrong. Mostly takes it out on Goat-Face."

"Goat-Face?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Our dad," said Ichigo flatly. "He's a total goat-face."

Naruto was confused but suspected it was better not to ask. He would never call his dad a goat-face. Then again, his dad was the Yondaime. It probably would have been treason or something.

Naruto cast about for another topic. His eyes, naturally, fell on the bookshelves full of scrolls. "Where do you think grandfather got all these?" And wasn't that weird? He shared a _grandfather_ with someone.

"There was a letter for us descendants, not the one we gave to the Hokage," said Ichigo. "It wasn't very clear, I think he had intended to tell mom some, but she never had time to tell us anything if he did. Mamoru fell on the battlefield, but he didn't die. When he recovered, Uzu was gone. He raided the libraries of all the major clans before they could be looted. Then he used that seal of his and left."

Naruto thought about what he would do if Konoha fell despite his best efforts to protect it. Would he seek revenge and continue fighting? Or would he, too, leave and try to find a new home? Uzumaki Mamoru had done that, and so had Ichigo in a way. Naruto didn't know, and he didn't really want to think about it knowing how close that possibility had been in the past.

Naruto desperately tried to think of something else. "So, speaking of seals, I saw the scroll on the back of the door. That's the protective barrier, right?"

Ichigo nodded. "It's a sort of written kidou—kidou are bit like ninjutsu back in Soul Society—and you can do different stuff with them. Kukaku taught me how to make them."

"And it goes around the whole apartment, right?" asked Naruto. "I noticed the ink."

Ichigo sighed. "Yeah, that was a pain, since Yuzu couldn't decide what color she wanted the living room to be, and I had to keep rewriting it."

Naruto chuckled. He'd never had that problem with one of his seals before, but he could imagine. "Did you have to re-ink it when you rewrote the ward?"

"No," said Ichigo. "That just changed the effect of the barrier."

From there, the conversation descended into a discussion of how protective barriers worked and a comparison of rewritten kidou and sealing. It was pleasant, Naruto thought. He could discuss sealing in general terms with Kakashi and specific medical seals with Sakura. But with Jiraiya gone these many years past, there had been no one he could discuss the down and dirty details with. Ichigo was interested, which was a pleasant change from most of his friends, even Kon had wandered off to take a nap, and if Naruto had to explain a bit more than usual, then that just made it was easier to keep the conversation going.

They had just broken out some of Mamoru's scrolls, one of the ones Ichigo had been able to identify as a basic introduction to the Sealing Arts, when Ichigo paused and looked out the window.

Naruto tensed. "What is it?"

Ichigo waved him off. "Nothing, just the mask-guys switching out. I was trying to keep an eye out this time, just in case."

Naruto nodded. "That's not a bad idea." He winced. "But you probably shouldn't call them mask-guys. The ANBU are the elite shinobi of the village."

"Oh, I'll be careful then," said Ichigo. "ANBU, huh? What's that stand for?"

"Er, Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai, the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad," explained Naruto for the first time in his life. "Every village has one."

Ichigo's eyebrows rose to meet his hairline. He glanced out the window. "And I thought knowing the proper name would make it feel less like I was being stalked by Hollows." He snorted. "Shows what I know."

"Hollows?" asked Naruto. "Those are the evil spirits, right? Why do ANBU remind you of them?"

Ichigo gestured at his face. "It's the masks. Hollows wear them to protect their more vulnerable parts, the feelings they used to have when they were alive."

"And they look like ANBU masks?" asked Naruto. The thought niggled at him. He was forgetting something about the ANBU.

"OH MY GOD!" Naruto shot out of his seat startling Ichigo. "It's been three hours! Tsunade-baa-chan is going to have my head on a pike. I'm so sorry. I've got to go."

"Ah, Naruto-san, before you leave," began Ichigo.

Naruto paused. Ichigo looked hesitant almost shy. "Yes?"

"Karin and Yuzu still have the weekends off, something about still being students," explained Ichigo. "So Karin and I were going to play some soccer and Yuzu wants a picnic. If nothing happens before then, would you like to come?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "Really? You're asking me?"

Ichigo scowled, in confusion this time. "Who else would I be asking?"

"I'll be there," said Naruto pumping a fist. "Believe it!"

"I'll let Yuzu know," said Ichigo mildly. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Naruto paled. "Oh yeah. Thanks, Ichigo. See you later!"

Naruto soared out the nearest window ignoring a startled squawk from Ichigo. His sisters were training to be shinobi; they'd be at it soon enough. He could barely believe things had gone so well. Even if they spent most of the time talking about seals, Naruto had had a lot of fun. And they had plans for Saturday. Wait till he told Iruka-sensei!

Grinning, Naruto put on a burst of speed. He had work to do. He was going to protect his cousins this time. No matter what.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Sasuke slipped back into the room he was sharing with Karin and Suigetsu. The familiar sounds of heated argument flooded his ears. Dressed in civilian clothes as they were, and with Suigetsu's Kubikiribocho hidden among their luggage, even Sasuke had a hard time believing they were shinobi. The argument didn't go on for much longer. Karin noticed his presence immediately and smiled at him from her bed.

"Sasuke-sama, you're back."

"Did you hear anything from Konoha?" asked Suigetsu.

Sasuke adjusted his yukata and sat on the other bed well away from Karin's grabbing arms. She was still a little loopy from her earlier experience, and he had been goosed more than once since she woke up.

"There was a similar attack in Konoha this morning," said Sasuke.

Suigetsu and Karin both started.

"Who was it?" asked Suigetsu.

"They don't know who was responsible," said Sasuke unhappily. "But the victim was one of your new cousins, Karin. They were able to retrieve him before the kidnappers got too far away from the village."

"Tch, bastards," grumbled Karin.

Suigetsu snorted and crossed his arms. "So what's the plan?"

"Konoha's sending Jugo to meet us and an ANBU team as a shadow," said Sasuke. He arched a sarcastic brow. "We're going to be bait."

"Woo-hoo!" yelled Karin. "A-rank pay! More fried pork-cutlet for me."

Sasuke eyed her carefully. He glanced at Suigetsu, who rolled his eyes.

"Her brain is as useful as fried pork-cutlet right now, but she'll get better." The ex-Kiri-nin grinned, displaying a mouth full of too sharp teeth. "So we're going to be bait? Those guys won't know what hit them."

Sasuke returned the vicious smile with a smirk of his own. They dared to attack his team? They dared to attack Konoha? Naruto's village and the one Itachi had died to save? No, Sasuke would never allow it. He would find the source of this new threat and erase it from the world. No matter what.

-0-0-0-0-0-

-0-0-0-0-0-

This is was supposed to be the Naruto and Ichigo having family feels chapter. But Ichigo was too laconic, and Naruto was too nervous.

Also, a brief shout-out to Team Taka, who are fighting the good fight away from Konoha.

If you thought nothing exciting happened this chapter, that's okay. Upon review, this was mostly a tag to the chapter before. Ichigo will be back up to his usual antics next chapter.

Thanks for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

Soul of Fire

-0-0-0-0-0-

Lee spotted Ichigo weaving through the busy foot-traffic of the market and promptly flipped out of his upright push-ups to flash him a beaming grin. It was the second day after the attempted kidnapping. Ichigo had joined Lee and his team yesterday and this morning for early practice and had agreed to meet again after lunch. He was still in his training uniform but, from what Lee could tell, was looking much more relaxed, which was a relief. It was good to see Ichigo finally settling into Konoha. It had been most distressing the other day in the Hokage's office to realize he thought himself expendable.

"Afternoon," said Ichigo with a nod.

Ah, well, Ichigo's conversation skills had yet to improve, but one could always hope.

"It is a most glorious day," confirmed Lee hoping to inspire his friend. "I see Kon has not joined you for our excursion?"

Ichigo shrugged. "He went to the hospital to see Karin. He said watching you guys kick my butt at hand-to-hand managed to get old."

Privately, Lee suspected that Ichigo was holding back quite a bit when it came to taijutsu, especially after the display with the kidnappers. But then, perhaps Ichigo was concerned about hurting them if he went all out. He still had yet to spar again using his bokken though he still carried it everywhere. It was a thought to share with his team later though it would do little to soothe Neji's pride.

"Your Fires of Youth burn higher with each bout," cheered Lee. "You improve with each bout." Which was true and a little frightening to watch.

Ichigo never hesitated when he struck, and he when did hit, well, Lee thought of it as using the best strike possible. Ichigo was not dedicated to any one style but instead used whatever worked in his current situation. Lee had been astonished to some of his own moves from their very first bout used against Tenten. Ichigo had even used one of Neji's gentle-palm strikes to knock a kick off course in his bout with Gai-sensei though he had not been able to apply the devastating chakra-strike to a tenketsu point.

The whole thing reminded Lee strongly of his first Chunin Exam. Uchiha Sasuke had demonstrated similar skill when replicating one of Lee's attack combinations. But Sasuke had possessed the natural advantage of his sharingan while Ichigo was simply that good. Though Ichigo claimed no such title, Lee suspected he was a natural combat genius along the lines of Sasuke, Neji, and Hatake Kakashi.

Ichigo looked vaguely amused. "Thanks."

"So Karin and Yuzu are both well?" asked Lee.

Ichigo snorted. "Yeah. They both collapsed after dinner. Neither one is used to this sort of training."

But Ichigo was used to training just as hard and possibly harder. The thought lay fallow between them.

"So, were you doing pushups on your thumbs just now?" asked Ichigo to fill the silence.

"Yes!" said Lee grabbing hold of the subject. "I promised to do two-hundred pushups before you arrived, or else I would run ten laps around Konoha. I only reached one hundred fifty eight, so I must set aside some time later."

Usually that sort of statement prompted eye-rolls from his fellow shinobi. Instead, Ichigo cast a longing look toward the wall surrounding Konohagakure.

"Outside the walls?" he asked. His tone was very nearly wistful.

Oh dear. Lee almost flailed in his arms in panic. That was not the response he had been expecting or wanting. "The route outside the walls is longer and more useful for training, but should you desire to fan your Inner Flames by running, I must suggest in the inner route for security purposes."

"Right," said Ichigo.

His shoulders slumped, only a tiny amount, but as a person trained to utilize and know every aspect of the body, Lee saw it. That was distressing. Ichigo hadn't looked so unhappy when kidnapped. Angry? Yes. Disappointed? No.

"Do you have some issue with the Noble Wall that defends our village?" asked Lee. He was truly curious. Even if _he_ wasn't a spy, he was still a shinobi. Information was their life's blood.

"The only place I've been with a wall like that is Seireitei," said Ichigo.

"Seireitei?" repeated Lee.

"The capital of Soul Society," said Ichigo. "The place my father was born."

The place Ichigo and his sisters were fleeing, as far as Lee could tell. Well, that was most un-Youthful. He certainly did not want Ichigo to associate Konoha with a place like that, even if it did have an intriguing name like the Court of Pure Souls.

"Your own village did not have a defensive wall?" asked Lee hoping to buy time for his team to arrive. Surely, they would have a suggestion.

Ichigo blinked in surprise. "You mean, Karakura Town? No. I mean, why would they? There hasn't been a war on Japanese soil in almost fifty years."

Lee's jaw dropped. No war? In fifty years? The Hidden Villages went to war every ten to twenty years. There was still a silent truce after the end of Fourth Shinobi World War, but everyone knew it would not last forever. Fifty years without a war was unimaginable. How different the world must be beyond the Elemental Countries.

"But you've had training," said Lee. "You've fought against Soul Society."

Ichigo gave him a look that was hard to interpret. Part of it was sorrow. And part was pity.

"A couple of times, yeah," said Ichigo blandly. "I mostly fought for Soul Society. Those wars were different. Shorter, for one thing. And most people don't know they happened."

That was different from the wars Lee knew. Most of the wars between the villages went on for years, and they were all but unavoidable. For all that they were shinobi wars and supposedly secret, everyone was affected from the lowest villager to the greatest daimiyo.

"Lee! My student, what surprise has Ichigo gifted us with today?"

Gai-sensei had appeared. Tenten and Neji trailed along behind him. Lee felt his world slide back into focus. With his team, he knew how the world should work. Still, Lee wasn't sure how to answer. How would Gai-sensei, who had seen the end of the Third Shinobi War, so much different than the Fourth, react to the idea of fifty years of peace?

"Lee said mentioned he had to do ten laps around the village. I asked if he would be going outside the walls," said Ichigo also skipping the talk of war.

Neji and Tenten also looked alarmed, but Gai-sensei only looked thoughtful.

"While you are under surveillance, the hokage has not restricted your movements," he said. "With a proper escort, it could be a good idea, especially since it is a deviation from your normal routine."

Ichigo snorted. "You mean holing up in the apartment or wandering aimlessly around the village."

Lee winced. It was true that Ichigo had very little to occupy his time outside of meeting with Team Gai every day. And, unlike his sisters, he had found no way to apply his previously learned life skills since he denied any desire to join the ranks.

"That is correct," said Gai. "Pay attention, Lee, a change of scenery is often all that is needed to rekindle the Fires of Youth!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!" shouted Lee. He turned wide eyes on Ichigo. "What do you think? Can you make it ten laps around the village?"

Lee ignored the groans from Tenten and Neji. They always complained about his training regime, but for something as simple as a run, they would be more than capable of keeping up. Not to mention, the slouch had disappeared from Ichigo's shoulders.

"It shouldn't be a problem," said Ichigo with a wry twist to mouth.

As a group, they moved away from the busy city-center toward the outer walls. Team Gai fell into a loose formation with Gai at the head, Lee in the center with Ichigo, and Neji and Tenten at the back. If Ichigo noticed they were deliberately surrounding him, he gave no sign. Lee, as always, kept one ear open for Gai-sensei as he illumined Ichigo with the many virtues and dangers of the forests around Konoha. But he could not help but overhear the conversation between his other teammates.

"With Ichigo around, I thought we might finally have a team activity that didn't involve training," said Tenten.

Neji snorted, a rather inelegant sound from the normally composed Hyuuga. "It's to be expected. He's the only person to train with Gai-sensei and Lee and come back for seconds."

"Other than us, you mean?" teased Tenten.

"Obviously," said Neji with a sniff. "We're non-optional."

Lee couldn't decide whether to roll his eyes or smile. Naturally, he decided to smile. The Springtime of one's Youth should be spent on activities that one enjoyed. Training with his teammates was Lee's favorite thing to do. Why wouldn't Ichigo agree? But he was pleased to hear, once again, that deep-down Neji felt the same way.

Once outside the village, it was easy enough to find the track Lee used for his training. It was harder than strictly necessary, perhaps, and Lee had had to practice many times before he could complete the circuit on his hands as he often promised, but Ichigo had proven to be quite athletic and should have no trouble at all.

Indeed, half-way around the circuit Ichigo confirmed Lee's opinion aloud.

"Ten laps will take forever at this rate," mused the redhead.

"Oh?" asked Lee. "Do you think you can go faster?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to respond but paused and looked back at Gai instead. The jounin looked amused.

"If you desire to race, then it should not be a problem. If you encounter trouble, we shall catch-up soon enough," said Gai.

"Not if we catch you first," said Lee. "Let's go!"

He took off his an excited whoop and was pleased to see Ichigo fall in step beside him. Neji was generally too dignified for such displays, especially with Tenten about to watch, and Gai-sensei's age was slowly catching up though his experience more than made for his lessened speed. It was good to have someone to race against again.

Lee upped his speed just a hair. He was delighted when Ichigo kept pace. Every few hundred meters, he pushed just a little more until they were almost flying. He had not honestly expected to lap his team with Ichigo in tow, but after their sixth circle of the village they finally managed it. The expression on Neji's face when they passed by was priceless.

Half-way through the eighth lap of the village, Ichigo suddenly dropped out of sight as they leaped over a clearing. Lee quickly turned around and searched out his friend.

Ichigo was standing in the center of the clearing bent slightly at the waist and pressing his palms against his thighs to hold himself upright. He was shaking slightly, and Lee was alarmed by the scent of blood in the air.

"Are you alright?" asked Lee.

"I think I broke something," muttered Ichigo. He coughed and blood burbled between his lips. "Maybe a couple of somethings."

Lee was horrified. "We must get you to Konoha at once!"

"No," said Ichigo. He spat out another gob of blood. "Just wait a minute."

Lee frowned. If Ichigo had broken something important, then they should definitely not wait a minute. He was prepared to say as much—and haul Ichigo to the hospital if he decided to argue—when the other man closed his eyes. There was a brief flare of dark energy like the kind Lee sensed other day just before Ichigo broke his confinement. Then it was gone and Ichigo was straightening up and wiping off his mouth on his sleeve.

"See? All better," he said.

Lee gaped. "You _cannot_ be all better. You were bleeding internally! What happened?"

Ichigo blinked in surprise. "Who knew you'd be such a mother hen? Look, I was going too fast and broke a couple of ribs. But I fixed it. No big deal."

"No big deal?" shouted Lee loud enough to disturb any nearby animals had there been any. "What did you do?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to explain but quickly snapped it shut and whirled. "Who's there?"

Lee looked up. At the other end of the clearing, three unfamiliar shinobi walked out of the trees, two men and woman. They were dressed vaguely alike in dark shades of blue and grey. None had any outstanding weapons that he could see. One man was tall with broad-shoulders and dark hair and dark eyes. The other was shorter but just as broad with pale brown hair and grey eyes. The woman had the same brown hair and eyes as the second man and was lean with muscle, which suggested an emphasis taijutsu training rather than seduction.

Lee glanced at their forehead protectors. All three bore the symbol of Takigakure, the Hidden Waterfall Village, and all three bore the slash mark of missing-nin.

"Ichigo, get back," said Lee. "These people are missing-nin and very dangerous."

Ichigo nodded moving behind Lee. The taijutsu specialist hoped his team would arrive soon. Were he on his own, he would be more than fast enough to evade his attackers and rendezvous with his team. Normally, he would say the same for Ichigo, but he had so recently been vomiting blood that Lee was concerned about the result should he try.

"Hand over the Uzumaki, and we'll grant you a quick death leaf-nin," said the dark-haired man in front.

Lee hid his surprise. He knew that missing-nin did not go around picking fights with no reason, they could draw too much attention to themselves that way, but he had not actually expected them to be after Ichigo. They were actual missing-nin—real, living people—rather than the strange fakes that had attacked two days ago.

Lee spared a glance over his shoulder to see Ichigo's reaction to this revelation. He was not afraid, as many civilians would be in such circumstances, but his face had taken on a grim countenance. Lee might have gone to describe Ichigo's stance as resigned, but was distracted by the sight of a cloth-wrapped hilt poking over Ichigo's shoulder. It was not the hilt of Ichigo's bokken because that weapon was planted solidly in the ground a few feet away.

The missing-nin took the opportunity to attack and Lee found himself dodging a handful of shuriken thrown by the squad's leader. The second man attacked Lee with a kunai while the kunoichi launched herself at Ichigo. Lee disengaged from the close range attack and crashed into the woman instead. He had never wished so desperately for some skill at throwing weapons. There was no way to keep the attention of all three. None of their attackers had used any chakra yet, so his teammates would not have any reason to hurry.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lee saw Ichigo draw the weapon from his back. It was enormous. As long as Ichigo was tall and nearly the breadth of his shoulders at the base, the weapon was single-edge and lacking both guard and pommel. The piece of cloth wrapped around the tang was the only grip but that hardly seemed to bother Ichigo. It looked oddly similar to an over-large kitchen knife.

Ichigo held the massive blade parallel to the ground with surprising ease. Lee was reminded heavily of Suigetsu's Kubikiribocho, the large weapon once wielded by Momochi Zabuza, one of the seven ninja swordsmen of the mist.

"You sure you know how to use that kid?" asked the leader derisively.

"Zangetsu is a part of me," said Ichigo.

The second man snorted. "Not for long, it ain't."

He threw himself at Ichigo, kunai extended. Lee couldn't move to help him, entangled as he was with the enemy kunoichi. He feared what would happen once the missing-nin got inside Ichigo's range. A weapon that large could only move so fast. However, it seemed he had no reason to worry.

Ichigo moved the impossible sword as quickly as his bokken, perhaps even faster. He deflected the shinobi's attack and countered in a single swift movement scoring a slash on his attacker's arm.

Lee was shocked and impressed. He aimed a punishing kick at the kunoichi's side, knocking her into a nearby tree despite her attempt to block, and dodged another set of shuriken from the leader. He rushed the man now that he was less concerned for Ichigo's safety but still hoped to the end the fight quickly.

"Down!" shouted Ichigo.

The taijutsu specialist responded instantly. He darted to the side and dodged a water bullet by a hair. Lee had to jump out of the way again as the earth fell away beneath his feet, courtesy of the kunoichi—she must have been more resilient than he expected—but landed within striking range of the leader. He hit the man in the elbow, shattering the joint, but the shinobi was determined, if nothing else, and ignored the wound to strike at Lee with a kunai held in his back hand.

Lee was too close to dodge completely, even with his speed, and was preparing to take the strike to the shoulder, when Ichigo was suddenly there, blocking the hit with the edge of his blade. Startled, the enemy shinobi withdrew to the other side of the field and Lee regained his footing.

"Ah, my friend, you truly have been holding back in our fights," he said cheerfully.

"Not really," muttered Ichigo despite having crossed the distance at a speed Lee would find difficult to match even without his weights.

"By now they have realized, I am not equipped to deal with long-range attacks," said Lee quietly. "They will mostly likely attempt to attack with ninjutsu or thrown weapons."

Ichigo's eyes were bright even as his mouth twisted into a scowl. It appeared as if he could not decide choose between elation and disgust at the battle. He brought Zangetsu to a ready stance.

"Lucky, for us, I'm great at long-range attacks," he said casually. "Do you think the hokage will be mad about the forest?"

Lee twitched in concern. Ichigo had suffered serious injury only minutes before, and Lee knew of no way to use a sword as a long-range weapon, unless he tried throwing this one too. Part of him wanted to protect Ichigo as an at-risk-civilian while the rest saw him as a comrade-in-arms. Still, they could not hold out forever against three enemy shinobi capable of using ninjutsu.

"I do not believe she will be concerned," said Lee at last.

"Good," said Ichigo raising his blade. Lee swore he saw the edge of the sword glowed red.

"You have more skill than we expected," said the leader. "But we will not lose now."

The enemy shinobi raised his working hand and began to form a series of seals. Lee was impressed despite himself. He knew one-handed seals required a great deal of skill, even if he could not use them himself.

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Flame Technique!"

The dragon head formed and Lee considered the irony of a Leaf-nin being killed by fire-technique performed by missing Taki-nin. This technique was all about control. Even if he and Ichigo tried to run, the dragon would follow them. They had no way of judging their enemy's range either.

"Getsuga tenshou!" shouted Ichigo bringing his sword down in an arc.

Moon fang heaven-piercer, Lee translated mentally watching in stunned awe as a black crescent of pure energy tore through the ground. It hit the flame dragon and consumed it utterly. The enemy shinobi had almost no warning and less time to react. It was a sign of his skill that managed to dodge at all though he was not completely successful.

Lee stared astonishment when the attack faded. It left behind a deep scar in the earth extending at least twenty meters. The dark-haired leader was lying at the edge of the pit missing one of his legs and part of his previously wounded arm. The other two shinobi were nowhere in sight.

"Should have known they couldn't dodge it," muttered Ichigo.

Lee glanced at him and followed his gaze into the pit. There were the other missing-nin, or what remained of them at least. They must have used Earth Release: Hiding like a Mole doubtless intending to capture Ichigo and pull him underground while leaving Lee to be fried by the dragon on the surface.

The earth shifted, and the kunoichi tumbled out of her make-shift tomb. Less than half her body was intact, and what Lee could see of her face was surprised. There was no way for them to have anticipated Ichigo's attack or the way it dug into the ground. There had been no great build-up of chakra. Hidden as they were, they might not even have seen the attack that killed them.

"At least it was quick," offered Lee. It was meager comfort, but from the way Ichigo acted, he doubted this was the first time the other had killed.

Ichigo snorted but said nothing. Instead he turned his gaze on his sword. He flicked the heavy weapon up and out as easily as Lee could move a stick. The piece of cloth trailing from the hilt twisted and sinuously wrapped around the blade. Ichigo laid the weapon across his back as any shinobi might sheathe a normal sword. When he let go, it disappeared from Lee's view.

Ichigo didn't move as though he had an invisible sword strapped across his back, and Lee was watching very carefully as Ichigo picked his way across the battlefield to retrieve his bokken. Lee could only conclude that it wasn't actually there. If it had been, he or Neji would have hit at least once during one of their bouts. It was a puzzle for later.

Lee moved to the leader of squad. To his surprise, the man was still alive. Ichigo's attack must have cauterized the wounds somehow. The man was staring blindly at the sky in shock. Lee decided to keep an eye on him and wait for the rest of his team before preparing to move the body. They could hardly be far away now.

"Lee, Kurosaki." As if summoned by Lee's thoughts, Neji burst out of the tree line followed closely by Tenten and Gai. "Are you alright?"

"I am fine," said Lee. "But you might wish to examine Ichigo."

Neji focused his byakugan gaze on Ichigo. "No injuries."

Lee blinked and whipped his head around to stare at Ichigo. The redhead countered Lee's disbelieving look with a challenging gaze of his own as if to say: I told you so. Lee wasn't sure if he should be relieved or worried that Ichigo had the ability to heal his own wounds. He would mention it in the report to the Hokage and let her decide.

"What in the world happened?" murmured Tenten as she overlooked the scene.

Gai's gaze swept over the newly broken ground resting briefly on the dead shinobi and the still living one at Lee's feet.

"Neji, secure the prisoner," he ordered. "Lee, report."

"Ichigo and I were approached by three missing-nin , who stated their intentions to capture Ichigo and kill me. I ordered Ichigo to stand back and engaged the ninja myself. I was unable to occupy their attention fully and Ichigo entered the fight with a sword-like weapon I did not recognize. We fought to a stalemate and withdrew. The enemy attacked with a fire release, which Ichigo countered with an attack of his own design killing two of the enemy and seriously wounding the third."

"Is that so?" asked Gai. His voice was perfectly neutral and he was looking at Ichigo like he had never seen him before.

Lee looked back at the crater and supposed that it was not an untrue sentiment. He had known that Ichigo was more than a regular civilian. The hokage had told them as much if their own experiences weren't enough. But to do so much damage with one attack…only the sannin could manage it or one of the jinchuuriki. Ichigo's expression had slowly closed until he looked as emotionless as Neji on a bad day.

"I'm sure the Hokage will have questions of her own," said Gai slowly. "But congratulations on surviving!"

"Thanks," said Ichigo voice flat.

"Incoming," said Neji cutting through the building tension. "Naruto, Kakashi, two ANBU, and Kon."

Ichigo grumbled. "Karin must have sent them. She was the one keeping Kon today."

"She sent them?" asked Gai. "How did she know something was wrong?"

"Same way they did before. She and Yuzu probably felt it when I released Zangetsu," said Ichigo.

Gai opened his mouth, no doubt to ask what Zangetsu was, when the group Neji spotted burst onto the scene. Naruto was in the lead blue-eyes wide and frantic with Kon clinging desperately to his shoulder. He was followed closely by Kakashi, who looked grim, and behind him were the two ANBU. Naruto made a beeline straight for his cousin and gave him a once over checking for any damage.

"Ichigo!" shouted Naruto practically in his face. "Are you okay? Karin said you were in trouble."

"I'm fine," said Ichigo. "A little deafened now, maybe."

"Are you sure?" demanded Naruto.

"Neji already checked me out," said Ichigo looked vaguely annoyed. "I'm _fine_. Lee was hurt more than me."

Naruto whirled on Lee, who mustered a cheerful grin and thumbs up. "Fear not, Naruto. I was not injured in the slightest thanks to the actions of your cousin!"

Naruto turned back to Ichigo. "Are you absolutely sure because—whoa, what's with this hole? Did one of the guys who attacked you do this?"

"I did it," said Ichigo.

Naruto stared at Ichigo. Then at the gaping wound in the ground. Then at back Ichigo. Alarm and pride mixed visibly on his face. Then, to everyone's surprise, Naruto gave Ichigo a quick hug and stepped back.

"It's fine," he said mysteriously. "You're alive, so it's fine."

Ichigo looked startled and maybe a bit embarrassed, but he had lost some of the stiffness to his expression. Kon, meanwhile, had taken the opportunity to transfer to Ichigo's shoulder and peering down at the furrow.

"Wow, Ichigo," muttered Kon. "You've really lost your touch. This is barely a scratch compared t—Oof!"

Ichigo tightened his grip around the plush doll. "Shut up, Kon," he hissed.

The toy screamed a few muffled protests but didn't say anything more when Ichigo let go. Surely, the redhead knew the rest of them had heard something, and that there was no way the ANBU, at least, would let it go. But they were all willing to let it rest until they returned to Konoha, especially when Naruto's challenging glare stopped them from asking any questions.

Lee asked them in his own mind as he examined the trough once more. What would a more impressive attack look like? Would it reach deeper into the earth? Extend a greater distance? If Ichigo had tried, could he have spread out the attack to reach the third shinobi also? Asking Ichigo outright would no doubt be met with a refusal to answer. Perhaps Naruto would know.

Neji remained behind with one of the ANBU to examine the site more closely. The other ANBU had sealed away the bodies and, after casting a sleeping jutsu on the remaining prisoner, was carrying him across his back. He kept pace slightly behind the group rather than going on ahead. Kakashi and Gai were in front while Naruto and Ichigo held the middle with Tenten and Lee at the rear. No one commented on Ichigo's skill at tree-jumping though only a few days ago it would have been a completely surprise.

"Now that we have your skill first hand, we must definitely spar again with your favored weapon," said Lee cheerfully.

In front of him, Ichigo flinched slightly. On his shoulder, Kon whipped his head around and made frantic "stop" motions. Apparently, Lee had stumbled on to a touchy subject though he wasn't sure how.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," said Ichigo quietly.

"Really?" asked Tenten. "I was hoping for a go at someone who didn't think fists were the be-all-end-all of taijutsu for a change."

"I'm not very good at sparring, not the way you think of sparring, even with the bokken," replied Ichigo.

"What does that even mean?" demanded Naruto, who seemed determined to find out more about his cousin even as Kon warned him off.

Ichigo glanced briefly at the ANBU moving with them then heaved a sigh. "That attack back there would have barely registered for the people who trained me. They believed in do or die. Emphasis on the die. Maybe it would be okay with you, Tenten, but I'd rather not risk it on an unarmed opponent, especially one I'd have to fight as seriously as you, Lee."

Lee knew he shouldn't be offended. He had just seen three highly skilled shinobi destroyed by that attack without ever sensing it coming. He should be appreciative that Ichigo considered his skills serious enough to pose a threat. Not every shinobi was impressed by his no-chakra taijutsu. Still, it rankled just a bit.

"That's not a stance most shinobi would take," said Kakashi idly.

"Well, I am not a shinobi," said Ichigo bitterly.

"I suppose not," agreed Kakashi. He kept going intentionally oblivious to Ichigo's darkening mood. "So, Ichigo-san, if that little hole back there isn't one your stronger attacks, what's the most impressive thing you've ever broken?"

Lee saw Gai-sensei glance at his self-proclaimed rival, but no one said anything to put a stop to the questioning. Not even Naruto despite his troubled glances.

When he answered, Ichigo sounded wistful. "I killed two people today."

Lee's face wasn't very expressive, except when he put real effort into it; it was simply too memorable for him to take undercover missions. He suspected no one looking at him would sense his confusion, but he felt it was plain to see. Certainly killing people was unfortunate, but they were shinobi. The death of others meant life for the Village. He caught Tenten's eyes. She gave him a half-shrug equally confused. Naruto looked oddly conflicted, and Lee could see the sorrow written in the lines of tension on Gai-sensei's back. Who knew what Kakashi and the ANBU thought behind their masks?

"Fair enough," said Kakashi at last. "But you don't find many philosophers in the ranks, so perhaps a more literal example?"

"Ah, well." The tips of Ichigo's ear flushed pink with embarrassment. "I've destroyed a lot of stuff over the years. Something in Soul Society, probably. What do you think, Kon?"

The little lion snorted. Even expecting it, it was strange to hear the doll reply. "Ichigo, you broke Soul Society, period."

"Hey, we didn't cause that much damage," protested Ichigo sounding put out. "Rukongai is basically fine, except for that area they switched out with Karakura."

"That's not what I meant," muttered Kon. "But, let's think. How about that time with the mountain?"

"I don't think that should count," said Ichigo quickly.

"The thing with Oin?" offered Kon.

"I wasn't the one to break the seal," said Ichigo. "Hitting it again just stopped it from working for a little while."

"You broke through the barrier surrounding Seireitei," said Kon. "You know, the one that destroys whatever gets too close?"

Ichigo waved a hand. "That definitely doesn't count. The whole gang helped with that and we used Kukaku's special cannonball kidou."

"Ah, you broke the arbor of the Sōkyoku. I don't think anyone's ever managed that before," said Kon.

"I don't think anyone's ever tried that before," replied Ichigo. "Besides Shunsui and Juushiro were the ones to actually break the Sokyoku. I mean, most of what I broke was random buildings or seals. Nothing really…"

Ichigo trailed off suddenly. Lee was curious about the mountain. Did Ichigo destroy a mountain? Did he not? He barely recognized half the words Kon was using. They must have been places and artifacts from the land Ichigo used to live, or more accurately, Ichigo's father's homeland as there was apparently some difference. Privately, Lee thought Ichigo's father's people must be quite arrogant given the names they bestowed upon their lands and tools.

"Did you think of something?" prodded Kakashi.

"The gates," said Ichigo quietly. "That probably did the most damage."

"Gates?" asked Kon. "What ga—oh, yes. That caused a serious problem. And you broke them twice. Going in and coming out. Not to mention all the damned souls that could have escaped and all of the hell energy that was released into Karakura. Of course, most of Karakura was probably screwed from their brief visit to Soul Society, not to mention you living there for eighteen years, so that probably wasn't as bad as it could have been."

"What gates?" demanded Naruto. "What are you talking about?"

"The Gates of Hell," said Ichigo idly.

Naruto missed the next branch and went crashing to the ground prompting the whole party to stop and stare. Lee was especially concerned. He lacked the chakra control necessary for tree walking, but even he could recover more gracefully than that. Naruto was back with them in less than a moment, shaking off the twenty foot drop like it had never happened.

"Are you serious?" yelled Naruto. His voice reached new heights of alarm beyond what he had already displayed for Ichigo. "The Gates of Hell? What were you even thinking?"

"Ah, some people kidnapped Yuzu, and I had to get her back," said Ichigo.

"Would this be the incident that made your sister so…insistent?" asked Kakashi.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, the atmosphere's pretty bad there. I suppose you could say she got infected."

"What are you talking about?" asked a hopelessly confused Lee. "The Gates to Hell? What are those?"

"It's a prison," said Ichigo. "It's nominally run by Soul Society and but has a _very_ specialized staff. The gates were thought to be unbreakable, until I had to go in and get Yuzu."

"What did people from Hell want with Yuzu anyway?" demanded Naruto. "She's so nice!"

Ichigo blushed faintly and ducked his head. Lee realized he was embarrassed and wondered why. On Ichigo's shoulder, Kon started chortling.

"Some of the prisoners saw one of Ichigo's fights and how much of a mess he made," explained Kon. "They wanted to use Ichigo's power to bust them out and tried to kidnap Karin and Yuzu so he would go in after them. Ichigo's just embarrassed because he played right into their hands."

The back of Ichigo's neck was bright red. Lee could only assume his face was the same. It clashed horribly with his orange hair, even Lee could see that. Ichigo reached back to tug nervously at his hair. It was remarkably similar to one of Naruto's nervous tics. Lee hadn't realized things like that could be inherited. He glanced at Tenten, who was looking back and forth between the two having noticed the same thing.

"It's Yuzu," said Ichigo. "It's not like I wouldn't have gone after her, even if I had known about the plan."

Gai took a moment to flash Ichigo a thumbs-up and Naruto was beaming in approval. That was the Konoha way, after all, to put your comrades first no matter the odds. That Yuzu was family was incidental. Lee felt his heart swell in response. Ichigo's burning desire to protect his sisters was most Youthful.

"I don't understand," said Tenten. "If they could sneak out to kidnap Yuzu and Karin, then why did they need you to break them out?"

Ichigo waved his arms pointing to an imaginary manacle. "It's the chains they use. The, ah, wardens can use them to track the prisoners even if they escape. Breaking the Gates was probably a distraction for Soul Society; they really wanted me to break the chains."

"The chains Yuzu summoned to use on Anko," Kakashi began.

"Look a lot like the ones in Hell, yes," agreed Ichigo. There was certain finality to his tone that suggested he would not be answering anymore questions.

"Ibiki will be thrilled," said Kakashi mostly to Gai. It seemed he recognized Ichigo's resolve. "He's already looking for a way to make Yuzu more intimidating. An escapee from Hell sounds like a nice route."

"A most beneficial coincidence," agreed Gai. "But one must imagine how mighty and how horrible a prison it must be to deserve the name Hell."

Naruto let out a strange burble but managed not to fall out the trees again. After a moment, Lee decided he would shift his concern from Ichigo to his future hokage. Ichigo seemed more than capable of taking care of himself. Naruto, on the other hand, well, he was obviously regressing. Lee could keep an eye out for him, just until they got to the Tower. Tsunade-sama would be able to fix whatever was wrong with Naruto, even if took a solid hit or two.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tsunade tapped a nail against the varnished wood of her desk. The group of shinobi was virtually identical to the other day. Just missing Neji, who was still scouting the attack site, and Shikamaru, who was working with the limited information they had garnered from the cart drivers. Hopefully this new prisoner would have more for them to work with.

Lee concluded his after action report and rejoined the line. Tsunade shifted her gaze to Ichigo.

"You are supposed to be the one staying out of trouble," she said.

Ichigo scowled. "It's not like I go looking for it intentionally."

The little lion doll on his shoulder snickered. Tsunade shot it a suspicious look. Kon gulped and ducked away out of sight.

"Be that as it may," said Tsunade. "If you were running around Konoha and you encountered missing-nin, why not keep running? Or at least head back to the rest of the team? I thought you were trying to avoid fighting."

Lee stepped forward again. "I apologize, hokage-sama. In my excitement, I did not think to report that part of the encounter. We had stopped because Ichigo displayed signs of injury, presumably internal bleeding indicated by vomiting blood. When the missing-nin appeared, I did not think it wise to resume running and was unable to avoid engaging in battle."

Tsunade gaped, and she wasn't the only one. Every shinobi but Lee was staring at Ichigo. She was out of her seat with the green light of healing chakra surrounding her hands before she knew it. But still, Naruto managed to cut her off.

"What?" he screeched. "You said Neji checked you. He said you were fine."

"I am fine," snapped Ichigo automatically, obviously fed-up. "I fixed it." His expression softened slightly at Naruto's panicked expression. "I really am fine."

"Hmph," Tsunade grunted. She circled around her desk and gave Ichigo a quick check nonetheless. He scan came back negative. "You really are fine. Just like the other day."

Tsunade leaned back against her desk and crossed her arms. "So what happened to you _other_ than an attack by missing-nin? Since someone failed to accurately report the situation."

Ashamed, Lee stared at his feet. Tsunade let him wallow. She was the best medic-nin in the Elemental Countries. The part about the missing-nin mattered, but the healing was actually important.

Ichigo heaved a sigh. "I broke a couple of ribs because I was going too fast. It's not something I usually have to worry about when I'm a shinigami—

There was a squeak from someone in the room. Tsunade's head snapped up. None of her shinobi would admit to making such a pathetic noise in her presence. But discounting Naruto, who was still exuding anxiety from every pore, all eyes were locked on Ichigo.

"The ranks of Soul Society are referred to as shinigami," said Tsunade. She thought she heard someone whisper "arrogant bastards," and she definitely saw Ichigo's mouth twitch into a smile. She nodded. "Keep going."

All hint of a smile vanished. "When I'm acting as a member of the Court Guard, I don't need to worry about that sort of thing. I just forgot."

"And how did you heal yourself?" asked Tsunade. "That's not a Quincy technique, and Lee would have noticed if you had used one of your sister's spells."

Ichigo looked guilty. He even shifted from foot to foot where he stood, something she had never seen from him in any of their encounters thus far.

"Instant Regeneration," he said. "It's a Hollow ability."

Tsunade was floored. She knew she had read every page on Uzumaki Mamoru's journal. Hollows were deceased spirits that lingered on earth until they became corrupted and started to eat other spirits to sustain themselves. Nowhere did it mention those sorts of abilities being possessed by living people.

"How did," she began and cut herself off. "No. Is there anyone else who has anything to add about the missing-nin? Or what happened this afternoon? No? All of you, out. Kurosaki, Naruto. You stay. The rest of you, shoo. You too, Kakashi."

She waited until the silver-haired jounin had shut the door behind him and turned to face Ichigo. He was looking wary. He probably knew this sort of thing was a deal-breaker, which was why he had avoided mentioning it before. Then Naruto stepped up beside him with a determined glint in his eye.

"I already said that I wouldn't turn him away for being strong, baa-chan," he said.

Tsunade saw Ichigo lose some of his tension at the words. She sighed and moved back to her chair. Curse her motherly affection for Naruto.

"How exactly did you acquire Hollow powers?" she asked.

"I died a little bit," said Ichigo. "But I got better."

"You seem to be good at that," she said drily. "Is it going to be a problem?"

Ichigo looked wary. "What do you mean?"

"Are you going to start eating people?" she demanded.

Ichigo looked scandalized. "No! Of course not. I'm still human. I still have my heart. So I don't have to worry about that sort of thing. My Hollow isn't interested in eating people any way."

Tsunade quirked a brow. "And what does interest your Hollow?"

Ichigo blushed. "Fighting people." He continued over her snort. "When I died that time, I died with my heart full of regret. I regretted that I was too weak to protect Rukia or myself. And I regretted that I couldn't keep fighting. So my Hollow's greatest desire is to fight."

Tsunade understood that regret. She knew Naruto did too from the look on his face alone if nothing else. Well, that probably wouldn't be a problem then.

"Do you have any other powers I should know about?" she asked. "Beside your Quincy gifts, your Shinigami powers, and your Hollow abilities?"

Ichigo crossed his arms and thought about it. He really needed to think about it! Tsunade could scarcely believe it and it was happening in front of her nose.

"I also have Kushanada powers and Fullbring," he said. "Kushanada powers are what let me break up Yuzu's chains. And Fullbring, well, it's this power humans can have if their mothers are attacked by Hollow while pregnant. I can't do very much with that though just increase my speed a little and walk on stuff that shouldn't be walked on. That sort of thing."

"Awesome," said Naruto bouncing a little in place.

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose in a vain attempt to keep her headache at bay. There were two of them. There really was someone as powerful as Naruto and just as oblivious about the implications. She thought about it for a moment, looking again at the scowling Ichigo. No, he recognized his power; he was here because of it, because some fools in the afterlife of another dimension were afraid of it. But to Ichigo, power was secondary. Using that power to protect his family, his friends, that obviously came first.

That fit quite nicely into Tsunade's plans. She leaned forward.

"Kurosaki-san, I have a proposal."

He immediately looked wary. "Yes?"

"By tomorrow, I will have a dozen Clan Heads in here raising a stink about your stunt in the forest. I can always order them to shut up, but I have an idea that might work better," she explained.

"What is it?" he asked.

Tsunade met his eyes. "I want you to enlist as a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato."

Ichigo's response was immediate. "I would make a horrible ninja."

That wasn't a "no." Tsunade held up a hand. "Hear me out. The report from T&I says those cart-drivers were bribed to smuggle out the only untrained Uzumaki in the village. That would be you. If you become a shinobi, it may make the people trying to kidnap you rethink their plans."

Ichigo's expression was flat. "You don't really think that."

"It certainly won't hurt," said Tsunade firmly.

"And what if, since I'm a full-fledge ninja, they decide to go after Yuzu or Karin?" he asked.

"Karin is in the hospital when she isn't in class. Pretty soon Yuzu will start working with T&I. The only place in the whole village with more shinobi is the Tower," said Tsunade.

Ichigo still looked reluctant. "I'm not kidding about being a horrible ninja."

So he was still thinking about it. That was good. "You'll be a genin. Never offered promotion. Genin mostly do D-rank missions, which are chores the villagers need doing, carrying messages, organizing the missions desks, simple things. Occasionally, a team will complete C-rank missions, which are outside the village and therefore more dangerous. You wouldn't be doing many of those."

Ichigo looked doubtful. "That sounds like my part-time job in high. I don't think I'll scare off anyone that way."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "Two months from now are the Chunin Exams. There are two genin, Sarutobi Konohamaru and Hyuuga Hanabi, who for various reasons have not been able to complete the Exams. Passing them outside of the Exam system would be seen as a weakness during peacetime, since both are so strong.

"If you become the third member of their team, get them to the final round, and show off your skills in the elimination round, no one will doubt you are a Chunin-level shinobi, even if I don't try to promote you. Not to mention the Hyuuga and Sarutobi clans, both of whom are very influential in the village, will support you if the other clans still want to raise a fuss."

Tsunade watched Ichigo. He was still scowling, but it was a thoughtful look rather than an unhappy one. Beside him, Naruto was all but vibrating in place. The blonde kept glancing between Tsunade and Ichigo like they were exchanging blows in a sparring match. Tsunade was honestly concerned that he might explode.

"This would be permanent?" asked Ichigo. "Not just through the Exams?"

"Genin are required to serve ten years in order to pay back Konoha for their training," confirmed Tsunade. "The amount of time would be less if you were promoted, but that won't happen in your case."

"And I'll just have to do D-ranks and the occasional C-rank once the Exams are over," clarified Ichigo. "No, assassinations or anything like that?"

"There would of course be an exception in times of war," said Tsunade. "You would have to go into situations where you will potentially fight and kill other people then. But I expect, in that case, you would have no objections?"

Ichigo shook his head. No, she hadn't thought so.

Tsunade gave him another look. "You know, it surprises me that you would even think of being asked to assassinate someone. You're not exactly built for it."

Ichigo was too loud. Too vibrant. And she wasn't referring just to his hair. Now that he wasn't sinking into the dark gloom of depression, he seemed to fill up a room just by being there. Naruto would probably be better at an assassination attempt. At least he had the training for it.

There was a very peculiar expression on Ichigo's face.

"Ichigo," said Naruto carefully. "Did Soul Society ask you to assassinate somebody?"

Ichigo flushed. "Well, no, well, yes. There was already a battle going on, and I was just supposed to wait for an opening…and anyway it didn't work." He coughed and cleared his throat. "I will agree to your proposal with one condition."

Tsunade waited. And waited. And waited…

"Yes?" she asked.

Ichigo blinked. "Oh, if there is ever a certain problem in Soul Society, I may have to go back. But it shouldn't _be_ a problem."

Tsunade shook her head slightly. Oh, to be young and deliberately cryptic. But he had agreed. That was enough for her.

"Very well," she said.

Tsunade reached down into her desk and pulled out a blank application form. This hadn't been an idle thought of hers. She had given it serious consideration ever since the Kurosakis arrived in Konoha and he admitted to having military training. But she hadn't been so sure to fill out his name on the form. She did that now and handed it over.

"Fill that out and give to the Mission Desk," she said. "They'll issue you a hitai-ate. As of this moment you are genin of Konoha."

Ichigo snapped to attention and performed a perfect salute. Eerie. He must have been watching Lee. He was the only shinobi to salute sharply like that.

"Report tomorrow to Training Ground Ten to meet your team. Naruto, escort our newest shinobi back to his apartment. He's going to need to get ready. Dismissed."

Naruto and Ichigo both saluted. Naruto, for once, left using the door. She looked at the backs of the two boys as they left. Ichigo's orange hair and blue tunic were a remarkable contrast to Naruto's yellow hair and orange coat. Those were the shinobi of the future, and it was looking bright.

Tsunade quickly pulled out a bottle of celebratory sake and filled a saucer. Raising the cup she toasted the newest ninja, and pouring another round she toasted herself. Licking her lips, she grinned. Score one for the Hokage. She might be old, but she still had it.

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So, Ichigo finally got to use Zangetsu, and he dominated. Hooray! He's also now a genin. Double hooray!

Thank you for reading, and please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Soul of Fire

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Kurenai reclined against a tree watching two of her newest students bicker back and forth. Konohamaru and Hanabi had known each other since their Academy days, and after their original teams had passed the Chunin Exams when they had not, were often partnered together despite their clashing personalities.

Her nephew, Asuma's really but everyone considered him her nephew, had a vibrant personality. He loved to talk to people and fight with other shinobi to test his skills. The tan coat he usually wore was surprisingly bland, but he more than made up for it with the long blue scarf he wore around his neck. Most shinobi would never intentionally give their opponents a method to strangle them, and Konohamaru did occasionally remove it for his more serious missions, but as a ninjutsu-specialist rather than a taijutsu-specialist he felt he could get away with it.

Hanabi, on the other hand, was generally a quiet, serious girl like most of her clan. Unlike her clan, she stayed away from whites and pale grays and always wore a black tank top and matching black pants, usually over metal mesh. Hinata had confided in Kurenai that it was Hanabi's goal to become the top assassin in ANBU having a driven personality that did not favor her family's usual style of defensive combat. Nonetheless, she was a master of the Hyuuga: Gentle Fist style.

As the friendly argument between Konohamaru and Hanabi exploded into a shouting match, Kurenai mused there were always exceptions to the rule. Konohamaru could make friends with anyone, except Hanabi, and Hanabi could put up with anything, except Konohamaru's antics. Their fights were legendary already, and they were still only genin, but anyone trying to step in-between the two would be met by blistering opposition from both sides. The one thing they agreed on was that were both Leaf-genin and that the shinobi of Konoha should always lookout for each other. It was the only reason they managed to work as a team.

Kurenai's attention was thankfully diverted by someone else entering the training ground. He was above average height, dressed in a blue tunic and black pants with woven sandals over white tabi. The bright orange of his hair matched his orange sash, where he had a wooden bokken tied to his waist. Kurenai easily recognized Kurosaki Ichigo from the file Tsunade had sent her yesterday afternoon and from the scowl that Kakashi had described as his default expression.

Kurenai subtly checked her watch. Seven fifty eight. He was cutting it close. She stood up and brushed the dirt of off her white dress. It was an impractical thing to wear for most shinobi. But she was a genjutsu expert. No one would see her if she didn't want them to.

Konohamaru and Hanabi both saw her stand and turned to look at their new teammate. He raised a hand in greeting.

"Sorry about running late," he said. "No one actually told me where Training Ground Ten was, so I had to ask for directions."

For a moment, his head turned to the side. Kurenai followed his gaze and caught a flash of bone-white mask. He had asked his ANBU guard for directions? She shook her head. He really had to be Naruto's cousin. No one else would be so bold.

"You're just on time," said Kurenai as the team formed a loose semi-circle in front of her. "For the purposes of the village, this is Genin Team Three under jounin-sensei Yuhi Kurenai. Let's do some introductions. I'll go first.

"My name is Yuhi Kurenai. I've been a jounin of Konoha for eleven years. My hobbies are taking care of my daughter and developing genjutsu. My dream for the future is to see my child grow up."

She looked to the left at Konohamaru.

"My name is Sarutobi Konohamaru. I've been a genin of Konoha for, ugh, eight years. My hobbies are helping out with my cousin and learning ninjutsu. My dream for the future is to learn as many ninjutsu as my grandfather and become hokage!"

Kurenai smiled. Konohamaru was an excellent baby-sitter for her daughter. Though now that she was training in the Academy, she really didn't need an after-hours watcher, but it was good for all three of them to know that they had family to rely on in case of trouble. She turned toward Hanabi.

"I'm Hyuuga Hanabi. I am also a genin of Konoha. My hobbies are taijutsu practice and flower arranging. My dream for the future is to bring honor to Clan Hyuuga through my service to Konoha."

Well, that was one way to phrase become an assassin, thought Kurenai. Though as her teammates, as shinobi, Hanabi did not need to hide her real goals from them. She looked at Ichigo.

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. I've been a Konoha genin since yesterday. My hobbies are reading Shakespeare and fighting, I guess. My dream for the future…"

He trailed off. Kurenai frowned slightly. Konohamaru and Hanabi had known their goals for a long time, and she understood that Ichigo had been recently displayed, but he should still have some concrete idea of what he wanted to do, even if it was only "reach the Chunin Exams."

"My dream for the future is to protect my precious people," said Ichigo.

Kurenai smiled again. It was a good dream, even if it was a hard one.

"Hey, you're the boss's cousin, right?" asked Konohamaru.

Ichigo blinked. "The boss?"

"Naruto, Naruto!" said Konohamaru. "I escorted you and your sisters to the hokage the first day you got here. You said you were looking for family. It was the boss, right?"

Ichigo tilted his head in confusion. "That was you?"

Konohamaru's jaw dropped. "How could you forget…" He set on fist on his hip and flung out the other arm. His scarf floated in the air behind him. "…The Great Konohamaru!"

Ichigo pointed. "I remember now. You fell out of the gatehouse." Over Konohamaru's spluttering protests he continued, "Yeah, we're related. We have the same grandfather."

That meant Ichigo's grandfather was Kushina's father. She didn't remember much about the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. To her, Kushina had been another kunoichi of the village, strong, certainly, and a woman she could admire, but she had been nothing more than another shinobi lost on the night of the Kyuubi attack, another name on the Memorial Stone, not a person to mourn the way Kakashi did.

"You spar with cousin Neji's team?" asked Hanabi cutting through Kurenai thoughts.

"For the past few days," said Ichigo. "You must be related. And to Hinata too, right?"

"She is my older sister," confirmed Hanabi. She barreled on. "Neji says you are very good at hand-to-hand and that you do not find Lee or Gai…too much."

"Nah," said Ichigo. "Some of the guys back in the Eleventh are just as bad, and Lee and Gai don't insult your fashion choices while they're at it."

The idea of Gai or Lee insulting anyone about their choice of clothing was so remarkable it took Kurenai a moment to find her train of thought. Luckily, Konohamaru and Hanabi were equally stunned.

"We'll hold off on a taijutsu assessment for now. Since you are sparring with Team Gai, I'm sure you'll do fine," she told Ichigo. Honestly, in that case, Kurenai hoped _she_ was capable of keeping up. Gai's former genin were all monsters at their chosen styles. She turned to include the other genin. "Your first team assignment is this: Konohamaru and Hanabi will teach Ichigo tree-walking."

Ichigo looked mildly confused. Konohamaru and Hanabi stared at her in dismay.

"What?" demanded Konohamaru.

"Ichigo has no experience using chakra at all, so it's something he needs to work on," said Kurenai brightly. "Teaching him will be a good reminder for the two of you."

"And what will you be doing, Kurenai-sensei?" asked Hanabi. There was no mistaking the sullen tone in her voice.

"I'll be supervising, of course," said Kurenai. "Now, get to it."

She settled back under her tree to watch. It might have been mean of her to start with something like this, but her goal was prepare a _team_ for the Chunin Exams. If they couldn't work together for something as simple as this, well, Tsunade-sama would just have to grit her teeth and promote Konohamaru and Hanabi outside of the normal ranking matches. It would be a blow to village pride but holding the two back any longer would definitely hurt their careers.

Ichigo was looking at his fellow genin in confusion. "Tree-walking isn't like tree-jumping then? Because I can already to that."

"No," said Hanabi.

Konohamaru cleared his throat. "Tree-walking refers to gathering chakra to the soles of your feet and using it to attach yourself to another surface. You can use it to walk anywhere that isn't level ground, but around Konoha it's usually trees. Let me demonstrate."

Konohamaru turned and planted his feet on the nearest tree. After a few casual strides, he was hanging upside down from the nearest branch. It was neat work, but Kurenai could tell he wasn't converting his chakra in a totally efficient manner. He didn't have to be as precise as medic-nin, but as a ninjutsu specialist he would to do better than the average shinobi.

Ichigo looked impressed. "That's got to be useful for hiding out of the way. What's the catch?"

"If you use too much, you blast yourself off the tree," said Hanabi.

"If you use too little," Konohamaru abruptly cut his chakra flow and dropped to the ground, flipping around to land on his feet, "You fall off."

"It all depends on how well you can control the chakra flow," continued Hanabi. "You can form chakra, can't you?"

"I did it once," said Ichigo staring at his feet.

He missed the pained looks Konohamaru and Hanabi sent her way. Kurenai sent them a pointed look right back despite her own surprise. Hokage's instructions said Kurosaki had demonstrated the potential to use chakra, not that he had never used it.

The silent contest of wills between jounin instructor and genin was interrupted by a sudden surge in chakra from Ichigo. Kurenai was no sensor-type but even she had felt that. Before she, or anyone else, could issue a warning, Ichigo apparently sent all of that energy into his feet.

He blasted himself a foot into the air before losing his concentration and promptly crashing back down raising a small puff dust. Ichigo groaned faintly. He had landed on his back, no doubt winding him. Hanabi leaned over to look into his face.

"That was too much," she said and promptly activated her byakugan. "Hmm. Your tenketsu look fine." The released the byakugan again. "Way to not permanently damage your chakra coils."

Her voice was a complete deadpan the entire time, a stark contrast to Konohamaru, whose faces of panic, dismay, and relief grew increasingly ridiculous even as he reached out to give Ichigo a hand up. Kurenai tried not to groan. If Konoha's most promising genin couldn't pass the exams, maybe they could start a standup comedy routine.

"What was that about chakra coils?" asked Ichigo when he was back on his feet.

"You can burn out your chakra coils by using too much chakra," said Konohamaru. "Usually, you can recover, but if you use too much, it's permanent. Try not to do that again, okay?"

Ichigo carefully touched the back of his head and winced. "Right. So how do I avoid it?"

"Start with less," said Hanabi. "You only need so much chakra to match the tree, so don't draw too much to start with."

"Start with less," muttered Ichigo.

He closed his eyes. When Kurenai reached out with her senses, she could feel the chakra slowly pooling in the new genin. Ever so carefully, Ichigo let a tiny trickle coat the bottom of his feet.

For a moment, everything was fine. Then Ichigo's weight shifted, and he wind-milled his arms desperately to stay balanced. Kurenai winced as he crashed back down.

"That wasn't enough," said Hanabi helpfully.

Konohamaru put his face in his hands. "It's the first time I've seen someone fail at tree-walking _before_ they reach the tree."

Ichigo climbed to his feet. "It was better that time, at least."

Konohamaru sighed. "Yeah, you didn't blow yourself up. So that's good. Use something in between those two this time, but more like the second time, please."

"If you start out with too much or too little, you should be able to adjust the amount," added Hanabi.

Ichigo tried again. Taking Konohamaru's advice, he used a little more chakra, but it still wasn't enough. Starting to slide, he adjusted the amount of chakra again, but for some reason limited the change to just one foot and shot across the grass.

Kurenai stared in amazement as Ichigo slid back and forth over the grassy clearing like a one of the ice-dancers from Snow Country. An exceedingly drunk ice-dancer. She had never seen anything like it before. She could easily think of a dozen taijutsu applications for sliding out of the way in battle without ever changing one's stance. It would be better if Ichigo had done it on purpose, but maybe he could once his control improved.

Eventually—a very, very long eventually—Ichigo slowed to a stop. The next step he took was normal. And so was the one after that.

"I think I've got it," he said with relief.

Konohamaru gave him a thumbs-up. "Awesome. Now try it on the tree."

Kurenai cleared her throat as Ichigo moved to do just that. All three genin turned to look at her. They might have forgotten she was there. Ichigo's display had been entertaining."

"Don't forget, Ichigo, that the amount of chakra you need will be different because you'll be fighting gravity," she warned. "Not _too_ different. But it's something to keep in mind."

Ichigo nodded. "Right."

He turned toward the tree and intense expression of concentration on his face. If he could cast a fire release, Kurenai was sure the tree would smoking charcoal.

Ichigo took a careful step. Then another. He had to bend awkwardly the first meter or so, so he didn't slam his head into the ground. But after that, he straightened out and walked easily up to the branch Konohamaru reached and passed it. He found a branch of his own and walked out steadily upside-down along the bottom.

Kurenai was impressed. Some genin had no trouble getting tree-walking on their first try. Hinata was one of those, and presumably so was Hanabi. However, most genin needed a few tries before they felt comfortable hanging upside down. Ichigo hadn't hesitated.

"Well done," she said rising to her feet to stand with the other genin. "Now, how are you going to get back down?"

Ichigo looked up (down) at them from his perch then down (up) from his feet. Scowling, he crouched and set his hands next to his feet on the underside of the branch. Then he carefully let go of the chakra in his feet and unfurled his body until he was hanging straight down with his hands stuck to the branch with chakra. Then he cut the flow to his hands and dropped lightly to the ground.

"How did I do?" he asked.

"Great," said Konohamaru. Hanabi nodded.

"It was very good for a first attempt," said Kurenai. "You'll need more practice. But I have just the thing for that."

She slipped a scroll out of her pouch. Ichigo looked curious, while the other two hovered between interested and bored. They had to do a lot of D-ranks over the years, though mostly they were being assigned C-ranks as a team with a supervising jounin or chunin these days.

"A mission scroll?" asked Hanabi.

"I thought D-ranks were mostly chores," said Ichigo.

"Oh, this isn't just any D-rank," said Kurenai smirking.

Hanabi and Konohamaru both paled. Ichigo looked at his teammates in alarm.

"No, Aunt Kurenai," said Konohamaru. "Not that. Anything but that."

"Please," said Hanabi quietly but no less fervently. "Please, Kurenai-sensei, not the cat. We've already done our time."

"But Ichigo hasn't and you're a team now," she said. "Where one goes, all must go."

"What was this about a cat?" asked Ichigo.

Kurenai waved the mission scroll at him. "The fire-daimiyo's wife visited Konoha yesterday. Her cat, Tora, took the opportunity to escape. Team Three's mission is to find the cat and return it to the Hokage's office."

"That doesn't sound too hard," said Ichigo hesitantly casting a wary eye at his teammates.

"It's a demon," muttered Konohamaru.

Hanabi's eyes were closed and she was mouthing a quiet prayer.

Kurenai rolled her eyes at their antics. "In addition to completing the mission as stated, I want you all to use the tree-walking technique the entire time. You are not allowed to set foot on the ground until the mission is complete. This will be harder for you, Ichigo, since you just learned it. But it will also benefit you, Hanabi, and especially you, Konohamaru. It may take a while to find Tora, and you'll need to use your chakra efficiently."

"I'll find it," said Hanabi. "I swear, I'll find it. No stupid cat can escape my byakugan."

The rest of the team stared at her. Kurenai thought she would check Hanabi's records and see how many times she had been assigned the Tora mission. It wouldn't have changed Kurenai's decision, of course, but that was a very strong reaction.

"When do we start?" asked Ichigo.

Kurenai looked at them. "You start now. Meet you at the Tower when you're done!"

Forming the ram-seal, she used shunshin to disappear from the clearing then she applied a chameleon jutsu and walked back in. She would be tracking the team's progress from afar. Hanabi would be able to see her, but Kurenai trusted the girl would keep her mouth closed. Hinata had done so when Kurenai assigned Team Eight the Tora Mission as genin.

"I didn't expect it, not from Kurenai-sensei," said Hanabi mournfully. "Nee-san always said she was so nice."

Konohamaru shook his head. "She's been spending too much time with Shikamaru and Kakashi. She's gotten all their bad habits."

Ichigo was peering around the clearing. His gaze settled briefly on Kurenaui's hiding spot. He quirked a brow and moved on. Kurenai subtly checked her jutsu. She was definitely hidden. There was no way he could have seen her.

"Where should we start?" asked Ichigo.

"The beast often takes refuge in the woods," said Hanabi.

Ichigo looked around the clearing. They were surrounded by trees on all sides and this was only one training ground. "Anywhere more specific than that?"

"We'll go find where the daimiyo's wife is staying," said Konohamaru. "Tora usually makes a ruckus getting away."

Konohamaru took the lead at the trio of genin left to track the cat. They were being very careful not to touch the ground. Most of the time they were jumping from tree trunk to tree trunk, rather than the flat limbs, for the extra challenge. Kurenai stuck close to hear their conversation.

"This is just a normal cat, right?" asked Ichigo. "It's not a two-tailed one or anything?"

"One of the bijuu?" mused Konohamaru. "No, the Two-Tails was in Kumo. But a descendant maybe. Can the bijuu have descendants?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Ichigo.

Konohamaru cast him a confused glance. "You just asked if Tora was the Two-Tails."

"I asked if it was _a_ two-tails," said Ichigo. "You know, cats that live one hundred years gain an extra tail and become demons."

Konohamaru boggled. Even Hanabi turned her head to stare. Kurenai frowned. She had never heard anything like that before. Everyone knew, now at least, that the Sage of Six Paths had created the nine bijuu from the Ten-Tails. There weren't any others.

Ichigo correctly interpreted their response as a denial. He looked thoughtful. "So you've only got one nine-tailed fox, too? There aren't any more of those running around either?"

"No!" shouted Konohamaru and Hanabi.

Ichigo yelped in surprise and slid off a branch. He slapped it with his hands as he passed. One slid off, but the other stuck firm. He hung there swaying for a moment or two then hauled himself back up shooting his teammates an annoyed look. He jumped to the next tree continuing in the direction of the village proper and dragging his teammates in his wake.

They were both too busy thinking about the possibility of mulitplie Nine-Tails to really notice. Under normal circumstances, Kurenai wouldn't blame them, but they were on a mission, even it was just a D-rank. She would have to dock points in their evaluation.

"How do you end up with more than one Nine-Tails?" asked Hanabi.

"It's like the two-tailed cat, a fox lives so long and gains another tail and then another. Nine-tailed foxes are the oldest and most powerful," said Ichigo.

They broke out of the forest and onto a street. There was a moment of confusion as all three genin automatically jumped for a lamp post. Ichigo did a curious little flick with his feet and landed on a nearby bench instead—Kurenai knew he was heading the wrong way and wanted to know how he managed to change direction in mid-air— while Konohamaru claimed the top of the lamp and Hanabi clung to the side of the pole.

After a swift debate, Konohamaru took the lead, Ichigo the middle, and Hanabi the rear. They would follow in each other's footsteps through the busier areas to avoid crashing. Theoretically, by walking in that order one of the other of the more experienced genin would be able to catch Ichigo if fell again. And, when they reached that stage, Hanabi could use her byakugan just as well from the rear as she could from the front. It was nice planning, and Kurenai mentally applauded them for taking their teammate's weakness into account.

"And you just have all these nine-tailed foxes running around?" asked Konohamaru when they were underway once more.

Ichigo's scowl was a constant, Kurenai noticed, but now he seemed to disapprove of the idea itself rather than life in general. It was remarkable how much feeling he could convey with a single facial expression.

"I've never seen one," said Ichigo. "They're mythical creatures. But Captain Komamura was—is yokai, a demon, so I guess the others exist too."

Neither of the genin had anything to say to that, and they returned their attention to the mission. But it gave Kurenai something to think about as the team searched for traces of the cat. She had never heard either of those legends. The _only_ tailed beasts she knew of were _the_ Tailed Beasts, but in Ichigo's homeland there were others, and no special weight given to the one sealed in his cousin's stomach.

The possibility dawned on Kurenai as she followed the genin back out of the developed districts and into a different set of woods that Ichigo had never heard of the Kyuubi until he arrived in village.

She knew he was not originally from Konoha. His file contained no information one way or the other, but rumor said the Kurosakis weren't even from the Elemental Countries. But if he wasn't from the Elemental Countries, surely his homeland had been effected by Infinite Tsukuyomi. The genjutsu had been cast over the entire world. They had to have known _something_ about what was going on and that meant knowing about the Tailed-Beasts. But what if they hadn't?

The implications disturbed Kurenai, and she almost missed the team finding Tora.

The cat was sunning itself in the center of a clearing conveniently out range of any handy branches. With the advantage of Hanabi's byakugan, they had been able to reach the tree line without alerting Tora to his approaching capture.

After staring at the cat and the distance to the nearest branch, only a few meters, but oh what a difference it made, Konohamaru started signaling a plan. Hanabi was nodding along, but Ichigo was staring blankly in confusion. It took the other genin a minute or two to realize the problem. Ichigo was a brand new genin who had never attended the Academy. He didn't even know basic hand-signs much less the elaborate ones Konohamaru was using to outline his plan.

Konohamaru started pantomiming instead, which in Kurenai's opinion was even more confusing. Hanabi must have agreed because she cut him off with a sharp gesture the pulled a senbon out of her pouch. And smiled. Evilly.

Konohamaru and Ichigo exchanged a startled look. Both males grabbed one of her wrists and, in an excellent display of synchronization from a newly formed team, dragged her away from the clearing. They made a little noise as they went, but all Tora did was flick an ear and roll on to his back to get more sun.

Kurenai pitied the cat just a little. By this point in the year, all the new genin teams had drawn the Tora mission at least once and knew better than to accept it. That meant some poor, unlucky chunin had to track down the cat on his or her own the day the fire daimiyo's wife left the village. Tora was probably expecting a few more days of freedom.

She went to track down her wayward genin. They weren't too far away, just outside of the cat's hearing range. All three were attached to various tree limbs discussing strategy.

"—attached to one branch, then I'm attached to him, and then Hanabi would be attached to me. She can grab the cat since she has the best reflexes," concluded Konohamaru.

"The beast is crafty," said Hanabi. "It wouldn't work. My plan is best."

"Paralyzing the cat with senbon is _not_ returning him in good condition," said Ichigo. "That's a requirement of the mission."

Konohamaru snorted. "I don't see why. The daimiyo's wife will squeeze the life out of it the second we hand it over."

Ichigo sighed. "What if one of us goes to the other side and sends the running toward the other two?"

"Tora's pretty tricky," said Konohamaru. "It can probably dodge us."

Ichigo scowled. "Well, can you do any of those earth attacks? Make a hole or raise some walls?"

Konohamaru looked thoughtful. "An Earth Release Jutsu? Those are pretty advanced. But I can make some walls no problem."

Ichigo nodded and looked at Hanabi. "Do you want me to catch the cat?"

"It is probably for the best," she said coldly. "I will find a spot for the ambush."

Hanabi activated her byakugan. She didn't turn her head, but then she didn't need to. Kurenai gave a cheerful little wave knowing that the Hyuuga-girl would be able to see through her genjutsu. Hanabi tilted her head ever so slightly in acknowledgement.

Ichigo, who was watching closely having not had a chance to see the long-range applications of the byakugan before, noticed the movement and turned to look. His gaze settled directly on Kurenai, again. She frowned. How did he keep doing that? Was he a sensor-type like Sasuke's follower? That was supposedly an Uzumaki talent.

"Five meters north on the edge of the clearing there is sufficient space to raise walls and a tree with a limb at the appropriate height," reported Hanabi drawing Ichigo's attention. "I will circle around and begin when you are in position."

Plans made, the genin split up to take their positions. Hanabi went one way while Konohamaru and Ichigo went another. Kurenai followed the boys. She would be able to see the results of Hanabi's "herding" either way, but she could get a better feel for Konohamaru's jutsu from up-close.

Konohamaru had attached himself to a young tree near the bottom—they still couldn't touch the ground after all—and was already gathering chakra to start his jutsu. He had to wait until Tora hit the tree line, otherwise the cat would know something was wrong and avoid the area.

Ichigo had found the tree Hanabi mentioned and was crouched upside down underneath the limb. He would be able to shoot out and grab the cat as it passed underneath him.

Kurenai positioned herself so she could see the genin and the field and waited. She didn't have to wait long.

Once Hanabi saw the boys were in position, she started her assault on Tora. A senbon landed just beside the cat's tail waking it up and sending it running in the opposite direction with a startled yowl. A flurry of senbon, kunai, and shuriken kept the animal running in the correct direction. Tora made for the safety of the trees where the projectile weapons couldn't reach with the same sort of accuracy.

As soon as Tora reached the relative safety of the forest, Konohamaru activated his earth release technique. Walls rose on either side of the cat, each at least a meter and a half high and ten centimeters thick. There was no way the cat could jump over those. Tora might have hesitated anyway, but a last kunai from Hanabi hit the dirt wall behind its head and sent it charging forward.

It was the easiest thing in the world for Ichigo to swing down and scoop up the cat as it ran past. Kurenai expected screeching cries, flying claws, and at least a little blood, but she got none of those. Ichigo actually knew how to hold an unhappy cat. He had Tora's front legs trapped in one hand, its back legs in the other, and held it tight against his torso so it couldn't wiggle free. All-in-all it was the easiest cat-retrieval Kurenai had ever seen.

Hanabi quickly joined the boys. All three of them stared at the black cat in Ichigo's arms.

"I thought this was supposed to be hard," said Ichigo. "The only thing that took anytime was asking people where Tora had been."

"Just don't let it escape before we get back to the Tower," said Konohamaru. "That's happened before, and it's harder to capture when it know you're coming."

"Right," said Ichigo. "We should get going then."

The genin team started back to the village proper and the Hokage Tower resuming the same straight-line formation as before. Kurenai paced them easily. Konohamaru was correct about Tora's tendency to escape at the last moment.

It hadn't been a problem for Team Eight when they had the Tora-mission, but that was because Kiba and Akamaru's scents kept scaring the cat, and it took them ten hours to track the beast down. By that time, Shino had been so fed-up with the situation that he had his insects drain the cat of chakra when they finally cornered it. The fire-daimiyo's wife had accepted the explanation that they had been playing with the cat until it was exhausted. Sarutobi-sama had not been amused.

They were only a few streets away from the Tower when Tora made his move. The cat sank its teeth into Ichigo's hand. Ichigo hissed in pain but gamely held onto the cat. Unfortunately, he lost his grip on his chakra and started to fall off the side of the building the genin were walking on. He automatically gathered his chakra—Kurenai felt the swell of energy where she was standing—but likely realized blasting a hole in a shop-owner's store was not going to be covered by the cost of the mission. He was in for a very nasty landing.

Hanabi and Konohamaru reacted instantly. She reached out and grabbed him before he could go too far while Konohamaru spun around and down pushed him up and away from the busy street. The two genin waited until Ichigo had reattached himself to the building to relax their grip but didn't let go entirely.

Ichigo looked down menacingly at Tora. "Try that again, I dare you."

Whether or not the cat understood, it let out an angry yowl and bit Ichigo again. Or, it tried to bite anyway. The cat's mouth was in position but the sharp little teeth weren't moving. The cat made a very different sort of sound, a low whimper, and gingerly removed its teeth and shut its mouth. Kurenai swore she saw tears in its eyes.

"That's what I thought," said Ichigo grimly. "Let's go."

Hanabi and Konohamaru exchanged curious looks but followed after their teammate. Kurenai realized that they would be delivering the cat after all and, after dropping her genjutsu, used Body Flicker to beat them to the base of the Tower.

Once Tora was safely back in his owner's arms, safely always a relative term in that case, and Team Three had submitted a brief verbal report to the Hokage, Kurenai gathered her team in a mostly secluded corner near the Mission desk.

"You did a good job working together today," she said. "You completed the mission assigned to you with relative ease and demonstrated good team work, especially at the end."

"It was just the Tora-mission," said Konohamaru lacing his fingers behind his heatd.

Kurenai pointed at him. "That was your biggest problem on this mission. You didn't take it seriously."

She looked at each of her genin. Konohamaru looked startled. Hanabi ashamed. Ichigo, well, he had taken the mission more seriously than the other two, it was his very first after all, but he was listening intently to what she had to say.

"I know that some of you are ready, _more_ than ready, to move on to better things," said Kurenai. "But every mission, even D-ranks, are important to the village. By not focusing at the start of your mission, you very nearly failed to meet my requirements. What if this had been a courier mission? What if you weren't paying attention because you had just left Konoha and ran straight into an ambush? I want you to think about that before we meet again tomorrow."

Konohamaru and Hanabi both stared at their shoes. Ichigo looked faintly embarrassed and thoughtful, but he was the first to rally.

"So, we'll be meeting every day at eight?" he asked.

"Monday through Friday at Training Ground Ten," confirmed Kurenai. "You have all of Saturday and Sunday morning off to spend time with your families and train independently, and we'll meet Sunday afternoons to complete an extra D-rank. Of course, when we travel outside the village things will be different."

"Will we be doing a lot of that?" asked Ichigo.

"You have to complete at least one C-rank or better to be able to participate in the Exams," said Kurenai. "Konohamaru and Hanabi have done several with other teams, but we won't do one of those until you've had some more training."

Some of the tension in Ichigo, which she hadn't even noticed until that point, drained away at her assurances. Kurenai wondered if he was worried about leaving the village, but he had arrived in Konoha less than two weeks ago. She would have to find out if anything had happened on the trip. Kotetsu or Izumo would know. They knew all the gossip that came through the gates.

"That sounds fine," said Ichigo in reply. "Karin and Yuzu should be better trained by then."

Kurenai didn't let her curiosity show on her face. Ichigo was concerned for his sisters and thought he could protect them better than a village full of shinobi? She would have to learn if there was anything unusual about the kidnapping. She could ask Gai. He had been there for both attempts. She would have to talk to him anyway to get a fair assessment of Ichigo's taijutsu skills anyway.

"My father would like to invite the team to dinner on Saturday, since we will be entering the Exams together," said Hanabi into the silence.

Kurenai suppressed a wince. She remembered her first dinner at Hyuuga Compound when she was Team Eight's jounin-instructor. The relationship between Hinata and her father had improved since then, but the pall of gloom at that first meeting was hard to forget.

Konohamaru, on the other hand, appeared unbothered. "Nineteen hundred hours as usual?"

Hanabi nodded. Kurenai was startled to remember that Konohamaru had done this before. His last two entries in the Chunin Exam had him partnered with Hanabi, even if the teams were only temporary and just for the Exams. Failure on the part of the third member of the team was what kept both genin from advancing to the final round and possible promotion.

"That should be fine," said Kurenai. "Don't forget, tomorrow we meet at eight. Team Three dismissed."

The genin saluted. Konohamaru and Hanabi both wandered off, but Ichigo lingered.

"Is something wrong?" asked Kurenai. This was Ichigo's first day as a shinobi. She wouldn't be surprised if he had questions, she had some of her own.

Ichigo shook his head. "No. No." He looked mildly distressed. "It's just…dinner at the Hyuuga's? What should I expect?"

Kurenai smiled sympathetically. At least he had the sense to ask. "The Hyuuga are a very traditional clan. You should wear something formal if you have it, though given your circumstances," meaning his status as a newly arrived refugee, "it will be understandable if you don't. Other than that? Be on your best behavior. We'll swing by the compound tomorrow so you can see where it is."

"Thank you, Kurenai-sensei," said Ichigo.

He departed too leaving Kurenai on her own. She checked her watch. They really had completed the Tora-mission in record time. It was just about time for the Academy to end for the day. She could pick up her daughter and go out for an early dinner. The team had stopped briefly to buy some rice-balls in the market, the vendor only staring slightly as he negotiated with genin standing parallel to the ground, but that was only a light snack to tide them over until the mission was finished.

Humming happily to herself, Kurenai left the mission tower. She had a daughter to spoil and a team to train. She could inquire into Ichigo's mysterious background later.

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So, Ichigo has successfully completed his first mission as a genin. We'll mention why Hanabi and Konohamaru are still stuck as genin later though it's not essential to the story.

There was a little bit of confusion about why Zangetsu looked the way it did when this story takes place after the 1000 years of blood arc. I tried to mention it before in the story, but in case it wasn't clear: for the purposes of this story, the giant knife form is Zangetsu's sealed form. It's an arrogant zanpaktou and Ichigo has quite a lot of power, so there was no way it would settle for a normal, boring, katana shape.

Thanks for reading and for your continued support.


	9. Chapter 9

Soul of Fire

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Karin followed Sakura into the woman's office. This was her fourth day shadowing Sakura at the hospital. From what she had seen so far, it wasn't that different from Uncle Ryuuken's hospital back in Karakura Town though with the advantage of chakra-healing there were more recovery wards and fewer operation theaters. Probably more like Fourth Division in Soul Society then, not that Karin had ever been or that she would ever have the chance to go now.

The medic-nin's office was a happy combination of messy and perfectly clean that Karin had appreciated from the start. Every scrap of patient information was neatly filed in clearly labeled file cabinets, the In and Out trays on her desk were always about even when it came to paperwork, and there was not a speck of dirt anywhere.

Everything else was a bit of a toss-up. The shelves that weren't bursting with medical texts were filled with bizarre mementos that Sakura had collected or patients had given her over the years. Karin was particularly amused by the weapons mixed in with more ordinary gifts, but she would get used to it soon enough. There was a tiny table shoved into one corner with a sign that read "On-Going Research: Do Not Touch" the surface of which was covered in a jumbled mess of scrolls, books, and handwritten notes. There were extra supplies everywhere else: gloves, sterile syringes, bandages, tongue-depressors, and two extra lab-coats for when Sakura had to change after a messy patient.

Not to mention the room was tiny. Between the table, the desk, and two chairs—one for Sakura, one for visitors—there was almost no floor space. On bad days, Karin might call the office claustrophobic. It did have a door that kept out most of the noise, which was sometimes the best a person could ask for. Karin had asked why Sakura's office was so small when she was so important to the hospital.

"I'm not really there that much," she had said. "I usually go out in the field while shishou and Shizune do administrative things. All the hands-on research has to be done in the labs anyway. I have a private space down there too."

Karin hadn't been invited into the labs yet, and she understood why. There were dangerous things in hospital labs: poisons, toxic chemicals, infectious diseases, and blood samples from all sorts of people. All of those could be found in normal laboratories. A shinobi-run hospital had to be worse. She would have to prove herself with simpler tasks before being allowed in there.

Sakura gestured for her to sit in the extra chair, which Karin took gratefully. She thought she was in good shape, but Academy lessons in the morning followed by hospital rounds in the afternoon were taking their toll. She hadn't been so grateful tomorrow was the weekend in years.

The pink-haired medic-nin watched her intently. "What do you think, so far?"

So far Karin hadn't done very much. Most of what she did do was follow Sakura around and hand her things when she asked for them. The few exceptions usually involved holding down uncooperative patients and cleaning up puke though she had been given the opportunity to diagnose a few simple cases in the walk-in clinic.

"It's mostly the same as any other major hospital," said Karin. "More weapons injuries, and the healing techniques you use are different, but other than that…virtually identical."

"Is that so?" asked Sakura. Karin wondered how she had given the wrong answer. "Konoha has the most advanced hospital in the Elemental Countries. Our close relationship with Suna means theirs is catching up, and after the Alliance during the Fourth Shinobi War, we made recommendations to the other major Hidden Villages, but they're still learning."

Karin stared. Medicine had made huge advances in the past hundred years back on Earth, but the understanding of germ theory and the body was equally advanced here as far as she could tell from her studies. It was hard to believe that Konoha had the only hospital of this quality in the Elemental Countries.

"We're only so advanced because of Tsunade-shishou's insistence. She revolutionized the field of medicine and the requirements for medic-nin. We were making poisons for centuries, but cures are a new development," explained Sakura.

"I see," said Karin. But she didn't really. "What about civilian hospitals?"

"Civilian hospitals?" asked Sakura in surprise. "There aren't any. We treat our civilians here, but most people make due with local herbalists or traveling healers or occasionally a retired medic-nin. The upper classes are different of course, they have the money to pay for trained doctors. The only other hospitals are military ones for the daimyos' regular forces."

"I guess that's what it's like in Soul Society," said Karin. "But back…in Karakura, everywhere else really, it's different."

Sakura's gaze was thoughtful, her green eyes steady as they watched Karin. She let the silence stretch.

Anxiety grew in Karin's chest, a low ache that made her feel helpless. She twisted her fingers in the edge of her red shirt. She never used to be anxious like this. She wanted to kick something. Tomorrow's soccer game with Ichigo could not come soon enough.

"You never call it home," said Sakura eventually.

The words were like a physical blow. Karin reeled in her seat, but she recovered. She could take worse. She had taken worse in the past.

"When we left, Ichigo said we could never go back and be safe. Karakura, Japan, none of it is home anymore. So Yuzu and I thought it would be easier if we didn't use that word for those places. Konohagakure is our new home," said Karin.

Sakura looked sad. "I could never imagine leaving Konoha. Shishou left for years, but she wanted to leave because there were so many hurtful memories."

Sakura felt silent lost in her own thoughts. Then, after a moment, she straightened in her seat.

"I wanted to discuss the techniques you adapted," she said earnestly.

Karin blinked. Talk about conversational whiplash. But she latched on to the new topic happily enough. Anything was better than what they had been discussing before.

"What would you like to know?" asked Karin.

"Which techniques did you adapt specifically?" asked Sakura pulling out a pen and paper.

"Blood replenishing, toxin elimination in the blood, toxin elimination in the lungs, muscle repair, bone alignment, and defibrillation," rattled off Karin. "I know some others that I couldn't adapt, and the kidou for restoring reiatsu since that's basic and will work on anyone."

Sakura paused in her note taking. "You mentioned before that healing jutsu—kidou, was it?—were only completely effective on people from Soul Society. Why is that, exactly?"

"It has to do with the nature of people from Soul Society," said Karin awkwardly. She sighed. "I'm not sure that I can tell you about it. I'll need to talk to Ichigo and Yuzu about it." And Naruto. He was Sakura's teammate. He would know how she would react.

"But isn't your father from Soul Society?" continued Sakura. "Wouldn't the kidou effect you? What does that mean exactly kidou?"

"Dad's from Soul Society originally," said Karin addressing the first question first. "But we're from Karakura, like mom, which makes us different. If mom had gone to live in Soul Society, well, that probably wouldn't be possible in their situation."

Sakura nodded in understanding. "Because they're people were traditionally enemies."

"That's part of it," said Karin quickly. "As for kidou…"

She crossed her arms and scowled. There was so much about kidou and various spells. Ichigo knew much more than her having been thoroughly drilled in the matter by Kukaku and Unohana. But Sakura-sensei was more interested in the healing aspects, which Karin knew enough about to get by. She straightened in her chair.

"Kidou are generally understood to be spells though some people refer to them as the demon arts," explained Karin. "There are three types: bakudo, hado, and kaido, which are defensive/support-type, offensive/attack-type, and healing spells respectively. Bakudo and hado can be used against anyone. The kaido are a little trickier since they were developed for use on people from Soul Society. Ichigo knows a lot more than me. Unohana made him learn all the healing kidou."

"Who is Unohana?" asked Sakura curiously.

Karin froze then leaned nonchalant against the back of her seat. "Unohana was one of the captains in Soul Society. She's in charge of the Fourth Division, the support division. Their barracks doubled as the hospital for the rest of the divisions."

Sakura noticed her posture, her pinks brows raised rather pointedly at the false attempt at relaxation, but she let it go. Karin hoped Sakura-sensei saw as reluctance to discuss matters involving their exile rather than a reluctance to talk about shinigami, which is what it really was.

"Is there a reason she taught your brother rather than you?" asked Sakura.

"She knew Ichigo," said Karin bluntly. "I'm not sure how much the captains really knew about me and Yuzu other than that we existed and Ichigo got upset when we were in danger. We only saw them a handful of times. As for her reasons, I'm not exactly sure. Ichigo was never very good at helping in the clinic, but all he'd say about Unohana was that she was a maniac. I can ask if you want."

Sakura waved a hand. "That's alright. I was just curious. I can ask him myself later. Now, you said the kidou for restoring reiatsu works on everyone unlike the other healing spells. Why is that?"

"Everyone has reiatsu," said Karin. "But not everybody…"

Not everybody was made of reiryoku like the shinigami in Soul Society. When the living traveled to Soul Society, their physical bodies were converted to spiritual matter—it didn't kill them because they used Urahara's special gate—and in that form healing kidou were perfectly effective. In the Living World, they had to use Orihime's special powers or regular first aid until Karin worked out her converted spells. The only exception was Ichigo, who fought in shinigami and as a result could be treated with conventional kidou.

"Everyone has reiatsu," repeated Karin because that was all she could say without consulting her siblings.

Sakura looked curious. "If that's the case, could you use that one on me? Would it hurt anything?"

Karin blinked and studied Sakura. It took more effort to feel reiatsu in a living body than that of a shinigami or a Hollow unless the human had a lot of spiritual energy. Sakura, along with most of the shinobi she had encountered, had more than enough spiritual power. But they never used it as far as Karin could tell.

"No," said Karin slowly. "It should be fine. It won't do anything if your reiatsu levels are normal though."

"Try anyway," said Sakura.

"Okay."

Karin got out of her seat and circled around the desk. Sakura swiveled around in her chair. Curiosity burned in her eyes.

"Do I need to do anything?" asked Sakura.

"No," said Karin. "I just need to touch your head."

Technically, she could touch anywhere, but she would feel silly just holding Sakura's hand. Ichigo claimed Unohana had performed the technique without touching him at all. Karin thought that when _she_ reached a thousand years old, she could probably do it without touching too. She just needed a few more centuries of practice.

Karin concentrated and converted her reiatsu to healing energy. Unlike other kidou, healing spells required no chants to activate or use, simply will and the appropriate pattern passed on by another healer. Green light bloomed around her hands.

"It's the same color as healing chakra," said Sakura.

"Reiatsu is colored by your intent. Healing is always green," said Karin her focus never wavering. "I'm going to touch you now."

She reached out and touched the tips of her fingers to Sakura's temples. The kidou took hold. Startled by the reaction, Karin blinked while Sakura let out a little breath of surprise.

"Can you feel that?" asked Karin.

"Yes," said Sakura excitement and wonder coloring her tone. "It feels a lot like killing intent but not. Obviously. Is it working?"

"Killing intent?" muttered Karin in disbelief. In a more normal tone, she said, "You must have done something today that used reiatsu. Otherwise nothing would have happened."

"I was working in the labs this morning," said Sakura. "I was distilling antidotes."

Karin scowled that wouldn't cause anyone to use their reiatsu. Unless… "Did you use a ninjutsu for that?"

"It's standard procedure unless chakra interferes with the solution," said Sakura slipping into lecture mode. "I'll give you a scroll on it. A handful of ingredients are chakra-sensitive, so you have to be very careful when working with those otherwise the antidote you're attempting to make will turn out to be a poison or worse, completely useless."

"Shinobi are weird," Karin told her. "Normal people prefer a useless solution to a poisonous one."

Sakura's smile was accompanied by a wrinkled nose, but her amusement was genuine and unoffended. "You're a shinobi now too."

"A pre-genin-medic-nin," said Karin solemnly. "I hear them recite it in the halls. The kids like it because it rhymes."

"The adults like it because it rhymes too," said Sakura. "They just have the excuse of being high on pain medication. And you'll be able to drop the "pre" when you graduate from the Academy. That won't be too long. Iruka says you're doing well."

The kidou cut-out abruptly, its task complete. Sakura's reiatsu was back to peak levels. Karin lowered her hands and took a step back. Ignoring the elation in heart that came from the compliment and correctly executing a healing kidou, Karin reached out her spiritual awareness to poke at her sensei. She could feel a tiny difference in Sakura's reiatsu, but the effect was very small.

"It worked," she announced. "That kidou only effects reiatsu, but Ichigo thinks chakra and reiatsu are related somehow. So using chakra depleted your reiatsu a bit."

Sakura raised a hand to her head to briefly brush at her temples. "My chakra level is the same."

"It just effects your reiatsu," repeated Karin.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "So I heard." She paused. "I do feel better. Less tired. But I don't feel different physically."

Karin thought about it for a moment. "Chakra is made up of two energies, right? Physical and mental?"

"You think reiatsu is mental energy?" asked Sakura.

"It's definitely related," said Karin. "And it makes more sense than _killing intent_."

"Killing intent is a very important tool for a shinobi," said Sakura reclining in her chair now that exercise was over. It clearly wasn't a chair made for lounging, but Karin understood the importance of image. "Once you're started on rounds, you might have to deal with shinobi that do not want to be here. In extreme cases, that involves killing intent. We'll have to find a time to expose you."

"I've been attack by Hollow. They're all about killing intent," said Karin drily.

"Oh?" asked Sakura. Karin wasn't sure if her sensei knew about Hollow, but that wasn't the point of the story. "And what did you do?"

"Usually I hit them in the head with a soccer ball," said Karin. Ichigo took care of the really dangerous ones, but she didn't need to say that. All Hollow were dangerous.

Sakura threw back her head and laughed. "Well, we're not allowed to throw balls at patients, but I might be willing to make an exception." She gave few more chuckles then moved on to business. "For the rest of the day, I want you to help out at the front desk and familiarize yourself with our system. I have some more scrolls for you to study on the weekend—including the one about chakra-sensitive ingredients. I want you to practice drawing chakra into different parts of your body. Vary the amounts too. On Monday…"

Sakura trailed off. Her eyes glittered as she considered future possibilities. The devious grin was especially worrying

"On Monday?" prompted Karin.

"On Monday, I'll evaluate your chakra control and taijutsu ability," said Sakura. The grin broadened into a smirk. "Then the fun will start."

"Why do I get the feeling you really mean pain when you say fun?" asked Karin.

"To quote shishou: you've got a brain in that skull of yours, and you know how to use it," said Sakura. "Now, you've got your standing orders. Hop to it!"

Karin saluted, as was only appropriate for a pre-genin-medic-nin-in-training, and trotted out of the office. She would remember in the future that using the reiatsu restoring kidou energized shinobi in an _interesting_ way. Ichigo would be happy to add her discoveries to his working theory on reiatsu-chakra-relations. It might even make up for asking to tell another person about Soul Society. Just one more couldn't hurt.

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Kakashi considered his options carefully. The hokage had assigned him to the village for the time being ostensibly to lend his tracking experience to the search for the kidnappers, but in reality, she wanted another pair of eyes on Naruto's cousins. Tsunade trusted the Kurosakis and she trusted Naruto's opinion of them, but she didn't know much about them. Kakashi had plenty of reasons to observe them as one of Naruto's valued companions and as a lead investigator into the kidnappings.

Regarding the kidnappers, there was not much to be found. The bizarre, liquefied remains held no clues to their identities. The captured missing-nin had no valuable information about his client. The money that the cart-drivers had accepted as a bribe—an act he was sure they deeply regretted—was untraceable. There wasn't even a scent trace to be found outside the Kurosakis' apartment. None of his dogs had been able to find anything nor had any of the Inuzuka's hounds. In light of that and the continued report of all-clear from ANBU stationed around the village, Kakashi was at loose ends.

He had three choices: Ichigo, Karin, or Yuzu. If there was an attempted kidnapping of Uzumaki, one of those three, rather than Naruto or Tsunade, was a more likely target. Ichigo had spent the morning training with Team Three— today Kurenai was introducing him to the first of the basic jutsu learned at the Academy—and now they were probably running a D-rank mission. Kakashi had had enough of watching genin complain about D-ranks with his own team, so he would have to pass. Kurenai was a competent jounin, and had gotten even scarier since her child was born, so Ichigo would be fine.

He could track down Karin at the hospital. But it was the _hospital_. Not a comforting place for any shinobi much less one who was injured as frequently as Kakashi. Not to mention Sakura was there, and while he loved his all of cute little genin and was proud of their accomplishments as the next generation of sannin, he did not particularly want to be subject to the rounds of tests and vaccinations he knew the pink-haired medic-nin would force on him should he show up without an iron-clad argument against.

That left Yuzu, who was learning T&I's specialized brand of taijutsu from Anko somewhere in Training Ground Forty. He had introduced the two primarily for his own amusement. He had not expected that Yuzu was genuinely interested in joining the Interrogation Squad or that Anko would take such a shine to the girl. Their personalities didn't clash as much as they existed in completely separate realities. Still, Yuzu's display in the dango shop had been impressive to say the least. No one had been expecting _that_, especially not from _her_.

Decision made, Kakashi adjusted his hitai-ate and set out for Training Ground Forty. Technically, he didn't need to cover that eye anymore. Thanks to Obito's gift, he could use sharingan in both eyes and turn them both off. But he had trained with one eye closed since he was a teenager, it was part of his look, and sometimes, well, he forgot he could turn off the sharingan in that eye and turned one or both back on.

Sakura had been furious the first time he gave himself chakra-exhaustion that way. Naruto, once he was sure Kakashi would recover, had laughed himself sick. Sasuke had been completely unsympathetic, but at least he was there to be unsympathetic. Kakashi had the memory of a completely boring afternoon lodged in his psyche forever, but he also had the memory of the reunited Team Seven standing at his bedside, and later Sai and Yamato stopping by to check-in on their sempai, to make up for it.

In any event, the eye stayed covered as a precaution unless he was in battle or training. He was fairly certain Obito wouldn't be offended.

Using his nose, it didn't take long for Kakashi find his targets. Anko smelled like snake skin and mitarashi dango, a combination that was impossible to forget. Yuzu smelled a lot like hot ash, which he initially assumed was a result of her enthusiasm for cooking but now he wasn't so sure, and a variety of unfamiliar scents that were shared by her siblings, indicative of life in Karakura.

To Kakashi's surprise, the two women were being observed by Morino Ibiki. He touched down next to the dark presence that was the Head of the Torture and Interrogation Squad and started to ask about his presence. Instead, the words caught in his throat and he gaped.

Ibiki was an intimidating man. Dressed in black from head to toe, solidly built, and taller than average with terrible scars on his face and worse ones hidden beneath his clothes. Every inch of Ibiki was purposefully designed to menace.

Perched on his shoulder, completely ruining the effect, was the stuffed lion doll, Kon.

The toy, seeing Kakashi's stare, waved a tiny paw in greeting.

"Something for you, Kakashi?" asked Ibiki sounding far too amused.

"Aren't you a security risk?" asked the S-Ranked Copy-Nin. It was all he could think to say.

"Nope," said Kon.

"No brain, can't be probed; no nerves, can't be tortured; and nobody thinks of pumping a doll for information," explained Ibiki.

That didn't preclude the possibility of emotional manipulation, but as Ibiki said, no one would ever think of interrogating a doll. The closest thing the Elemental Countries had to something like Kon was Suna's puppets but, barring exceptions like Sasori, none of those possessed a consciousness.

"But why?" asked Kakashi as slowly reeled in his lost lines of thought.

"I'm here for moral support," said Kon proudly.

There was a cry and a thump. Yuzu, who had been practicing a hold, lost control of Anko and ended up face down in the dirt. In less than a minute she was back on her feet listening intently as the older kunoichi outlined the reasons for her failure. Yuzu didn't even seem to notice the blood streaming from her nose so strong was her focus.

"For Yuzu?" asked Kakashi dubiously.

"For Ichigo," admitted Kon. "He gave Yuzu the okay, but he is not happy about it. Not about Karin either. I was with her yesterday."

Kakashi remembered. Sakura had sent a message to Tsunade from the hospital and included Kon at Karin's insistence. The doll had been able to direct the team containing Kakashi, Naruto, and two additional ANBU straight to Ichigo's location.

"Tsunade-sama thinks the boy might do something rash if his sisters are in significant danger," said Ibiki. "The doll is a compromise. It can report to Ichigo without revealing our specific techniques."

"I'm a guy! Not an it! I'm a guy and my name is Kon!" protested the doll.

Kakashi almost looked down to verify Kon's claims but managed to restrain himself. He knew there wasn't anything to see. He had examined the lion the other day—after the dango shop incident—back when he thought it was just a doll.

Kakashi carefully directed his mind away from that disturbing line of thought and focused on the much more pleasant issue of Ichigo's hang-ups regarding his sisters. He had the impression that over-protective was a mild descriptor for Ichigo. Not that he smothered the twins, but he obviously worried about their safety. A lot. Considering the damage Ichigo had managed the other day, with a severely underpowered attack according to Kon, then the hokage's decision was prudent. Panicking any of the Kurosakis unnecessarily was probably a bad idea.

"You might want to consider some trauma therapy for Yuzu," said Kakashi following along those lines.

"Oh?" asked Ibiki.

He kept his eyes front following Yuzu's progress but obviously listening to Kakashi. Yuzu had executed the hold correctly and was now trying to direct Anko around the clearing with only mild success.

"Her current quirks, we'll call them, can be directly attributed to time spent in a prison known as Hell," said Kakashi.

"Is that so?" asked Ibiki. "Sounds like a fun place. When was this, exactly?"

Kakashi directed his gaze to Kon, who was looking anxious and sad. The toy was very expressive for a creature with no facial muscles.

"I'm not sure when _exactly_," said Kon waving his arms. "Life was pretty hectic for a while. More than five years ago, less than eight."

Ibiki scowled displeased by the answer. "What happened to her? What are the details?"

"Nothing happened to Yuzu, I think," said Kon carefully. "They kept her in a cage on the bottom level until Ichigo broke in and got her out. She was unconscious for most of the time too, so I don't know how much she remembers. They've never really talked about it."

"I'm surprised the brother didn't put her in therapy before now," said Ibiki. "He seems the type."

Kon shrugged. "She escaped from Hell. The only people who would believe that were in Soul Society, and Ichigo didn't want any extra attention on Yuzu for something like that. Besides, nobody knew Yuzu was affected until a few years later when she busted out the chains on some guy messing with her and Karin."

Kakashi and Ibiki exchanged unhappy looks. Sometimes kekkei genkai manifested under stressful conditions. The sharingan was a prime example. Assault would definitely count.

Kakashi redirected his attention to Yuzu and Anko. The girl had stopped trying to herd Anko, and they were in the middle of a sparring match. Yuzu was supposed to find a way to grab her opponent in the hold when Anko was trying to resist. Anko wasn't going at top speed, but that would come later, after Yuzu got the feel of things.

"Why would Ichigo want to keep Yuzu away from the eyes of Soul Society if it meant she could get help?" asked Kakashi. "His conflict with them only happened recently, right?"

Kon snorted. He couldn't possibly have sinuses in that stuffed body, but the sound was completely realistic.

"Yeah, turning on Ichigo was new, which tells you the Central Chambers aren't exactly reasonable. Somebody might have got the idea that since Yuzu ended up in Hell once, she deserved to be there," explained Kon.

"But she was a kidnap victim, a teenager," protested Ibiki.

Kakashi had killed a handful of children in his service as a shinobi, but he had always tried to make it quick. Ibiki might have needed to interrogate a few, possibly even use torture, though children rarely needed that much encouragement to talk. But Konoha took fewer of those missions than any other Hidden Village. They were the most prosperous village. They could afford to spare their shinobi some pain.

Soul Society, as far as Kakashi understood it, was a completely normal government like the daimyo's court. A civilian court could never approve torturing a child without facing public outcry. Unless, of course, it was a common practice.

"Hell is Hell," said Kon. "It doesn't matter how you get there. Everyone is guilty. Everyone is a lifer. There were probably kids in there younger than Yuzu, even if Ichigo didn't mention seeing any."

"Might need a psych-eval on the brother too," noted Ibiki.

Kakashi inclined his head. "I'll mention it to Tsunade-sama."

"Not Haruno?" asked Ibiki. "Isn't she training the other one?"

Kakashi grinned beneath his mask. "Sakura said if I ended up in the hospital again, she'd make sure I would never leave."

Ibiki huffed. "You know that's not what she meant."

"Maa. Maa. Best not to risk it," said Kakashi.

Yuzu had managed to catch Anko at least once, but the kunoichi had broken free almost immediately. They were back to sparring again, but Yuzu didn't appear disappointed just determined.

"If the girl was unconscious the whole time, it doesn't explain how her stint in Hell managed to give her quirks," said Ibiki idly. He directed a look at the lion on his shoulder. "Do you know? Or should I ask her brother?"

Kon whimpered. "Don't ask Ichigo. I'm surprised Kakashi got away with it last time."

The doll crossed his arms and assumed a thinking pose. His little tail twitched back and forth in displeasure. Kakashi left toy alone to ruminate and instead watched the women practice.

Yuzu had finally caught Anko and held her. She was frog-marching the kunoichi around the training ground. Anko's proud smirk was clear despite the occasional wince. After a full circle of the area, Yuzu dropped her hold and they started over.

"Hell has a bad atmosphere," said Kon eventually. "It infected Yuzu while she was there. You can see it when she calls her chains. All that red light."

Ibiki's scowl was out in full force. He could give the Hokage Monument a run for its money; his face might as well have been granite. "I take it you're not talking about air quality."

Kon hesitated prompting Kakashi to review what he knew already about the Kurosakis. They were willing to talk about anything from their homeland except its location and the exact nature of the powers used by the forces of Soul Society. Kakashi could understand the sentiment. Fortunately, he had heard most of Ichigo's explanations to Tsunade and was good at piecing things together.

"You mean, the reiatsu of the place was bad," said Kakashi carefully. "Like the empty districts polluted by Nine-Tails chakra."

Kon nodded. Worry shone from his black button eyes.

"We tried building a prison in one of those areas ten years ago," said Ibiki frowning. "But the chakra drove the prisoners insane during the initial trials. The guards too."

"Tell me there's a sane shinobi anywhere. I promise I won't laugh," said Kon with clear bravado.

The toy had a point. Compared to most people, shinobi _were_ insane. But there was a difference between normal, everyday crazy and Kyuubi-driven madness. They had lost quite a few shinobi trying to clear those districts before the Third declared them off limits.

"But Ichigo's not infected," clarified Kakashi. "He can counter the technique Yuzu learned there."

"He learned to do that from the guards," said Kon. "But that was later. At the beginning, the atmosphere upset him too. He had a hard time keeping control of his temper. But Ichigo has a lot of reiatsu, so he could push back. Yuzu's power hadn't developed yet. She was vulnerable. _And_ she ended up chained-up too, which made it worse."

"With the chains that track people," said Kakashi recalling Ichigo's explanation.

"Right," said Kon. "That's what really messed her up. They sink into your reiatsu."

"Is that going to affect Anko?" asked Ibiki. "Or any of the prisoner she'll be interrogating?"

"Uh, no?" said Kon hesitantly. "They're not the same sort of chain? They're, what did you call 'em, chakra-constructs? They only look the same."

"Probably for the best," said Ibiki, but it was clear his thoughts were divided on the matter. That would be a useful skill for any prison guard. Louder he said, "Wrap it up, you two. It's getting late. Tsunade-sama doesn't want you screwing around after dark."

There were cheerful cries of acknowledgement from Anko and Yuzu, though Yuzu's was actually cheerful while Anko's was closer to manic. Kakashi returned his full attention to Ibiki.

"How's she doing?" asked Kakashi.

Ibiki actually grinned. The effect was, as usual, deeply disquieting. "Girl's got talent. No mistake. She's clearing the usual mind-games like they were nothing. She's a hard worker too. Sometimes newbies slack off when they don't have a background in the business, thinks it keeps their hands clean, but she jumps right in. Nice to see some spunk."

Ibiki had claimed Anko had spunk once upon a time. Kakashi was dismayed.

"But she's so nice," said Kakashi. Hellish chakra-chains and unfortunate experiences aside, "nice" was Yuzu's dominant personality trait.

"You're the one who recommended her to Anko," said Ibiki cheekily. "Nice might throw off the prisoners though. Wait until they hear she escaped from Hell! Ha!"

Ibiki's laughter was as disturbing as his smile. But, on the plus side, Kakashi won his bet with Gai about how Ibiki would react to Yuzu's incarceration. That put in him back in the lead of their personal competition.

"We're ready," said Anko landing next to the other shinobi with a flourish.

"Hello, Morino-san, Kakashi-san," said Yuzu following more slowly behind her. "Is everything well?"

Coated in dirt from head-to-toe, Yuzu's green jacket and gray apron were a uniform brown. Blood had dried down her face from her earlier nose-bleeds. She looked nothing like the tidy home-maker that Kakashi had met just a week ago.

Despite her rough appearance, she was a smiling. It was a broad, happy grin that Kakashi had only seen on a handful of people. Gai, for one. Naruto, for another. Kakashi could see how the two were related when she was smiling like that.

"Just doing some follow-up," said Ibiki dismissively. "You're Anko's first student, after all."

"But Anko-san is a good teacher and so much fun!" said Yuzu earnestly.

Kakashi could tell she meant it. The other two were in T they could tell she meant it too. Good teacher wasn't surprising, Anko did a lot of work culling out new recruits for Ibiki. On the other hand, "Anko" and "fun" usually required some modifier like "scary" or "painful" or "when drunk" to make the claim stick. Yuzu said fun and meant fun—no qualifier necessary.

Anko's expression cartwheeled through a variety of emotions, most of which Kakashi was too polite to identify. She slung an arm around Yuzu's neck and crushed her to her chest. Anko was still wearing her metal mesh, so it had to hurt, but Yuzu didn't even whimper.

"She's adorable. I'm keeping her," she announced.

"You already said that," replied Kakashi.

"Just re-staking my claim," said Anko.

Kakashi rolled his eyes, and people thought he was weird. He had nothing on the shinobi from T&I.

Kon jumped from Ibiki's shoulder to Yuzu's head startling Anko into letting go. Yuzu rubbed her cheek. There was a distinct chain-link pattern pressed into her skin but not so much as a scratch. The group waited for Kon to get situated—hanging from Yuzu's shoulder, feet bouncing against her back—before starting back toward the village proper. Yuzu didn't know how to tree-jump like her brother, so it was slow going.

"Kakashi was checking up on you," said Kon matter-of-factly.

Yuzu grinned brightly. "Is that right, Kakashi-san?"

Anko's mutter of "I called dibs" was ignored by everyone.

"I'm looking into the kidnappers," explained Kakashi. "That means checking on all of you."

He thought Yuzu's smile dimmed a fraction at the mention of the kidnappers, but she restored it quickly.

"Have you found anything?" asked Yuzu.

"Investigations are on-going," said Kakashi.

Anko leaned in and stage-whispered, "That means no."

Kakashi pouted, completely hidden by the mask, and turned to Ibiki. "Have _you_ found anything?"

Ibiki scowled. "Investigations are on-going."

Yuzu giggled. She didn't seem that concerned by the kidnappers after all. Then again, escorted by three jounin—Anko had cried when she finally got to drop the tokubetsu from her title, something else Kakashi was too polite to mention—Yuzu probably felt perfectly safe.

Kon, however, had more to say. "He came here instead of checking on Karin in the hospital because he was afraid of Sakura-sensei."

Kakashi choked. Yuzu's expression turned morose. Ibiki and Anko watched waiting to see how the situation would resolve.

"Oh no, Kakashi-san, are you avoiding the hospital? You really should keep up with your physical appointments," said Yuzu with concern. "It's important to your health."

She looked _so_ disappointed. Kakashi gamely ignored the snickers from Anko and the smirk from Ibiki.

"I'll work on that right away," said Kakashi. He was famous for running late. Right away could be months from now.

"It's important to your health, Kakashi-san," said Yuzu, her voice gone flat.

Kakashi burst into a cold sweat. He could feel it trickling down his spine. He knew he would never be able to make fun of Yamato for capitulating to a civilian girl ever again.

"I'll work on that right away, Yuzu-san," he said, and he meant it. He really, really meant it.

"Great!" said Yuzu brightly. The terrible feeling vanished as her smile returned. "I'll tell Karin, and Sakura-sensei can set-up an appointment for you really soon."

As Anko heaped praises on Yuzu for being a natural and Ibiki silently radiated approval at his department's soon-to-be-newest member, Kakashi mourned quietly. However much Yuzu was related to Naruto, she was clearly equally related to Tsunade with her unnecessary concern for a poor, put-upon shinobi's health. While Kakashi could withstand any number of beatings to stay out of the hospital, no one could resist _that_. Insistent indeed.

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A brief interlude to check on Karin and Yuzu. Yuzu's having more fun because at this point she's just learning taijutsu. Karin needs a little more practice to be able to start using chakra. She's definitely nowhere near using it to heal people yet. But we did learn some stuff about how reiatsu relates to chakra.

For those of you who want to see Ichigo utterly destroy oblivious shinobi with Zangetsu, I want that too. Unfortunately, Ichigo is still in hiding mode. He only breaks out his powers under duress. For the time being, we'll all just have to imagine the awesome.

Next chapter is the soccer game with Naruto and the super exciting dinner with Team Three and the Hyuuga Clan.

Thank you for reading. I appreciate all of your comments.


	10. Chapter 10

Soul of Fire

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Morning dawned clear and bright over the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The rising sun casting a warm, rosy glow over the slowly waking village. The day promised to be beautiful. The few children up and awake at this hour were excited for the potential day of fun ahead. Games of ninja would erupt all over the village including such staples as rescue the princess, kill the evil warlord, and befriend the Nine-Tailed Fox. The early risers—the bakers, the smiths, a dozen other sundry merchants—looked forward to a day of good sales as the lovely weather promised to bring shoppers to the market. Even the shadows seemed brighter, forcing the shinobi hiding within them to adjust their genjutsu to match.

In his one bedroom apartment, Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's Number One Unpredictable Noisy Ninja and future hokage, could care less about the rising sun and the weather except as it effected the encroaching soccer game with his new-found cousins. He examined himself in the mirror and shook his head. His current outfit joined the rest of the pile.

The pile covered the floor of his room and quite a bit of the hallway. Every piece of clothing Naruto owned was in the pile and some he didn't own, which belonged to his often-away roommate, Sasuke. Naruto would really hate having to pick up all those clothes later, especially Sasuke's, because he could never get the folds quite right, and his friend always knew when Naruto touched his stuff.

That was distant, far-off worry because right now Naruto did not know what to wear. They were going to play soccer. Naruto had never even heard of soccer. A last-minute consult with Iruka-sensei was only mildly helpful. He had never heard of soccer either, which Naruto found to be a great disappointment, but Iruka did say Karin had organized her training uniform so that it resembled a soccer uniform.

Well, Naruto knew what Karin wore to the Academy. He escorted the girls there every day. But how closely should his outfit mimic hers? Did he need to wear red? Should he wear shin-guards? Were pants okay or only shorts? Yesterday, Yuzu had said he should wear something comfortable that he could move around in. But should he go for his shinobi outfit or something more casual?

The light from outside finally registered. Naruto whipped his head toward the window. If it was light outside, then he could visit Sakura. She was a girl. She always knew what to wear. Naruto zoomed to the front door—Sakura's building was on that side, so it was more practical than leaving through the window.

Just before he left, he caught sight of the kitchen clock and skidded to a halt. It was way too early to bother Sakura on a Saturday, especially since she usually pulled a double shift on Friday to deal with all the start-of-the-weekend accidents. Not even shinobi could escape the embarrassment that was drinking too much on a Friday night.

Naruto sighed and closed his eyes. He let his head fall forward to hit the door with a soft thud. Ichigo, Karin, Yuzu, none of them would care what he was wearing only that he showed up. What he had on now would be fine.

He opened his eyes and squinted down at his outfit. Socks. Good. The adorable gama-chan boxers Sai had given him as a gag-gift. Okay. Nothing else. Bad. Bad! Bad! Bad! He was practically naked! He could not go outside like this!

Naruto zipped back into his bedroom so fast that any onlookers might suspect shunshin was involved. Fortunately for Naruto, there were no onlookers inside the apartment or out. They no doubt would have been laughing at him.

A few hours later, Naruto was feeling much better after his morning breakfast of ramen. He was walking over to the Kurosakis apartment dressed in perfectly normal orange t-shirt and dark blue shorts. He was dressed as a civilian today, so he had left his forehead protector at home. As a result, his hair was falling down into his eyes. He would have to cut it again soon, he mused.

At the apartment, Naruto knocked tentatively on the door. Karin had taken the opportunity earlier in the week to explain exactly what would have happened had he knocked on the door the first time. Kurama had told him that he could have revived Naruto even from an attack like that. Naruto was pretty sure the old fox was full of hot air since not even Kurama knew anything about reiatsu or how it worked.

"Come in, Naruto!" called Yuzu cheerfully.

Naruto fished around in his pocket and retrieved the paper key Ichigo had given him. He carefully wrapped it around the door knob and twisted. There was a moment of resistance. Naruto could feel it as easily as he could feel the faint aura of menace coming from the door itself. But just as quickly the resistance and the aura faded, and the door swung open easily. Naruto grinned. Awesome.

"Hello?" he said as entered the apartment. He didn't move out of the entryway and didn't bother taking off his sandals. He thought they would be leaving right away.

"Hi, Naruto-san!"

That was Yuzu. She was carrying a large woven basket toward the door. Instead of her usual gray and green outfit, she was wearing pink hooded sweater-vest, a yellow skirt, and black leggings. Her light-brown hair was held back from her face by a strawberry hair clip. In addition to the basket, the straps of a small yellow backpack were slung across one shoulder.

"Good morning, Yuzu-san," said Naruto. "Do you need some help?"

Yuzu huffed. "You and Ichi-nii, such gentlemen," she said teasingly. "No, thank you. I'm working on my stamina."

"'Sup, Naruto?"

That was Karin. She was wearing her training outfit, after all. Naruto squinted, no, it was a little different. There was white writing on the shirt, and it was made of a different, shinier material that Naruto didn't recognize. Her black shorts were virtually identical, but the shin-guards, which she wore over tall socks, were very different and looked a lot more modern than the usual kyahan. Her hair was pulled back into a short tail, and she was carrying a black and white patterned ball under one arm.

"Hey."

Ichigo appeared behind his sisters. Instead of his training outfit, he wore a black long-sleeved shirt with a few vertical red stripes for decoration. He wore shorts too, and Naruto spotted gloves sticking out of his pocket. He wore tall socks like Karin's, but they looked strange to Naruto's eyes. It took him a moment to realize they weren't the tabi he was used to seeing.

A glance at the entrance way revealed several pairs of closed-toed shoes. They were unfamiliar designs, shoes the Kurosakis had brought from Japan. Naruto looked at his own open-toed sandals.

"Should I have brought my winter toe-covers?" he asked in concern.

All three siblings looked down at his feet.

"We can just play barefoot," said Karin with a shrug. "It's not like dad packed my cleats."

"If there's a place where we won't trip over some hidden traps," corrected Ichigo.

Naruto brightened. "We can use the training ground where Team Seven practices. Is everyone ready? Where's Kon?"

Yuzu leaned in conspiratorially. "He's sleeping-in this morning. He's not used to getting up so early, poor thing." She shifted her basket. "We're ready to go, Naruto-san!"

Naruto wasn't sure how a doll could sleep much less sleep-in, but he had learned not to question the bizarre characteristics of the lion-toy. Instead he led the Kurosaki out of the apartment and toward the training grounds.

On the way, he asked, ever so casually, how one went about playing soccer.

Karin launched into an explanation of the rules, the penalties, the requirements of the sport, and a description of the evolution of the game so thorough and complex that Naruto's head was spinning after only five minutes. When they finally reached the training ground, she was still going and only stopped to examine the playing field.

"I don't—

Naruto cut himself off. A lack of understanding was not sufficient to describe the aching pain in his head as he tried to recall a thousand little details.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-san," said Yuzu. "Karin-chan really likes soccer."

"I could tell," admitted Naruto. Not that it helped him understand anything.

Ichigo heaved a sigh. "You and Karin will be on opposite teams. You'll want to kick the ball into the goal to score a point. You can use any part of your body other than your hands to direct the ball. I'll be goalie and try to stop both of you from scoring. Unnecessary roughness usually results in a foul, but you two will probably end up play a little rough. Just don't break anything."

That was simple enough. He looked at Yuzu. "You're not playing?"

Yuzu had spread out a large blanket a little ways away and was unpacking her backpack. She had a few scraps of cloth and a needle and thread.

She shook her head. "I like to watch. I'll be the cheering squad."

"Alright," said Naruto. He looked back to Ichigo. "So where's the goal? How big is it?"

Ichigo gestured at one side of the training grounds. "Over there, probably. So the trees can stop the ball before it goes too far." He pitched his voice louder. "How big is a normal soccer goal, Karin?"

"Two and forty-four hundredths meters by seven and thirty-two hundredths meters," called Karin from the center of the field. She had sat down to strip off her shoes and socks and after a moment of indecision shucked the shin-guards too.

Ichigo looked at Naruto. "You're just going to have to imagine it."

"No problem!" said Naruto.

He formed a series of hand-seals and a pair of pillars the appropriate height and distance apart shot from the ground. Karin released a loud whoop of approval while Ichigo and Yuzu both looked impressed. Yuzu even gave a small round of applause.

"Why are the numbers so weird?" he asked Ichigo as they started to stretch.

"It's really 8 feet by 24 feet, but the Americans are the only ones who use that measuring system," said Ichigo.

"Americans?" asked Naruto. "Is that another place back on your world?"

Ichigo nodded. "There's North America and South America, which are continents. But I was talking about the United States of America, which is a country."

Naruto stared. The Elemental Countries existed on one, single continent and the surrounding islands. The _idea_ of two continents was huge. It was even stranger than the idea of Soul Society. Naruto knew there was an afterlife. He had even fought people from beyond the grave though not in the same way as Ichigo.

"How many?" asked Naruto.

"How many what?" asked Ichigo.

"How many continents? How many countries?" asked Naruto.

Ichigo blinked. "There are seven continents, but people only live on six. Antarctica is at the very bottom of the world, so it's too cold. As for countries, the last count was one ninety-six, I think? Right, Yuzu?"

"The official number is one hundred ninety five, since not everybody accepts Taiwan as a country, but there are some wars in other parts of the world where people want new countries, so it might change a little," said Yuzu.

"Yuzu watched a lot of news," explained Ichigo. "So she's more up to date on that sort of thing than me."

"It's important to keep up with current events, Ichi-nii," said Yuzu.

Ichigo just rolled his eyes and kept stretching. Naruto went through the moves automatically. His mind was still caught up in the idea of seven continents and almost two hundred countries. It was hard to imagine. It was so completely different from what Naruto was used to.

"How many people?" asked Naruto.

"In Japan or everywhere?" asked Ichigo.

"Both," said Naruto quickly.

Ichigo took a minute to think. "Japan's population is just over one hundred twenty five million. The Earth? A little less than eight billion? Why? Is this some hokage thing?"

"Yes," said Naruto automatically because the hokage did need to have an estimate of each countries' population.

Secretly, Naruto only kept from panicking because of his experience as a shinobi. The entire population of the Elemental Countries, as he knew it, was just over seven hundred million. The population of the Earth was more than ten times that amount.

He looked at his cousins. Despite that huge population, one that a shinobi could lose himself in and never be found by anyone friend or foe, Ichigo and his sisters still felt the need to leave their world completely. That wouldn't be happening here. Not on his watch.

Karin sauntered up, soccer ball balanced on one hip, and a victorious grin on her face. "Are you ready, Naruto?"

Naruto leapt to his feet. "Bring it on!"

Karin had outlined how far they were allowed to go before they were considered out-of-bounds. Yuzu was sitting about a meter-and a half back from the line on that side of the field. The center of goal Naruto had made was the center line. Then the same distance again on the other side stopping just short of the pond Naruto had fallen into during the bell test. Length-wise, they would only be playing a half-field, but it still took up most of the training ground.

Standing in front of the goal, Ichigo was holding the ball in his hands. He had put on the gloves—also a fetching shade of black—that Naruto had noticed earlier.

"You ready?" he called.

"Ready!" said Naruto. Karin flashed her brother a thumbs-up.

"Go, Karin! Go, Naruto!" shouted Yuzu from the sidelines.

Ichigo pitched the soccer ball into the air. Naruto and Karin raced toward the ball. Naruto headed for its approximate landing spot—he was ninja, he knew these things—but Karin ran ahead. She jumped into the air and head-butted the ball into the turf. She landed on her feet and took control of the ball racing down the field toward the goal before Naruto knew what happened.

Naruto charged after her with the spare thought that it might have been a good idea to bring his hitai-ate after all. He planned to kick the ball out from under her, but once he caught up, she started guarding it between her feet.

He circled around her trying to find a way to get the ball back, but she knew all the tricks for keeping it out of his reach. After one particularly impressive duck-twist-combination, Karin hauled back her foot and kicked the ball toward the goal.

Naruto watched it sail for the goal-posts at top speed and resigned himself to falling behind in points. But there was a flash of orange and black, and Ichigo was there. The ball bounced off his arms before it could pass through the goals, and Ichigo scooped it up.

"Nice save, Ichi-nii!" yelled Yuzu.

"Heads-up!" said Ichigo.

He pitched the ball further out away from the goal. Karin and Naruto ran after it. Naruto got there first this time, bouncing it off his chest rather than his head. He kicked the ball in front of him trying to keep it between his feet the way Karin had. One kick went just a little too far, and Karin rushed through like a tempest stealing the ball away from him.

"Arggh!" cried Naruto.

"You snooze, you lose," said Karin as she bounded away.

Ichigo blocked her next shot too, diving low to the earth and skidding across the dirt ground to reach. Karin recovered the ball, but Naruto wasn't going to sit by and let her attempt to score again. He caught up with her and watched her legs carefully. There was moment when her stride open just a little wider. Naruto shot his foot out and succeeded in knocking the ball away from her.

Unfortunately, they both crashed to the ground with their legs in a tangle. Before Naruto could even attempt to apologize, Karin was scrambling to her feet and charging after the ball.

"Nice try, Naruto," said Yuzu. "Keep it up."

Naruto jumped back up and chased after Karin. He couldn't get the ball back before she tried to score—Ichigo made another save—but managed to hold on to it a little longer the next time.

They kept going back and forth, sort of. Karin or Naruto starting out with the ball, Karin usually ending with the ball, and Karin attempting to score with ball, though Ichigo had blocked all her shots so far, but Naruto was improving with every attempt. He had almost got dribbling down—what Karin called keeping the ball between her feet while moving—and was doing better at stealing. Once he even managed without knocking them both down first.

Then Naruto saw his shot. The way was clear. Ichigo was the other end of the goal. He took his kick and the ball hurtled down the field straight towards the goal posts. There was no way Ichigo could catch it in time. It passed by the rock pillar…on the wrong side. Tears of frustration poured from Naruto's eyes.

"Wide," said Karin. "Good kick though. Don't forget to aim next time."

Ichigo went to retrieve the ball, which had gone a little way into the tree line after Naruto's failed shot. Naruto took the opportunity to glance at the sidelines where Yuzu was sitting. He had expected to hear something from the other twin, she managed to cheer or commiserate with every move.

To his surprise, Kakashi was sitting with Yuzu. Naruto hadn't seen the jounin arrive, he had been too focused on playing, but that was why they had guards in the first place. Kakashi had orders from Tsunade to check up on all them.

Then Naruto noticed the book in his former sensei's hands and froze. He had grown used to it after so many years in the jounin's presence—not to mention Jiraiya's—but that little orange book should be nowhere near sweet, innocent Yuzu.

"Naruto! Look out!"

Naruto turned his head just in time to catch a soccer ball straight to the face. The next thing he knew he was flat on the ground with Karin and Ichigo leaning over him looking concerned.

"Are you alright?" asked Karin.

Naruto blinked a couple of times and sat up. "I'm good," he said grinning. "It takes more than that to knock me out."

A hand appeared in front of his face. It belonged to Ichigo, whose apologetic look covered his whole face. Naruto took it happily letting the other man help him to his feet.

"Sorry about that," said Ichigo.

"I was the one not paying attention," said Naruto. "And I've got a hard head. Are we going to keep going?"

"Let's take a break and eat something," said Karin. "You can rest that hard head of yours for a while."

The three soccer players wandered over to Yuzu and Kakashi. Naruto was a little disappointed that they weren't going to keep playing; he was finally starting to get it. But he was cheered by the prospect of a picnic lunch made Yuzu. Then they reached the blanket, and Naruto abruptly remembered why he was distracted in the first place.

"What are you reading in public?" spluttered Ichigo.

Ichigo's face had gone bright red with embarrassment, and he was averting his eyes. Naruto winced and looked at Karin. She just rolled her eyes and dropped to the ground to fish out a bottle of water from the basket.

Kakashi just pointed a finger at Ichigo's reaction and tilted his head in Yuzu's direction.

"Ichi-nii's just shy," she said brightly. "You might want to put your book away for lunch, so it doesn't it get dirty."

There was an awkward silence while everyone else tried to ignore the obvious. Ichigo's face couldn't possibly get any redder. Naruto was debating the merits of strangling his old sensei; women everywhere would thank him for it, and Sakura might even give him a medal if she heard. Kakashi, thankfully, slipped Icha Icha Paradise back into the pocket of his vest.

Legs stretched out in front of her and leaning back one hand, Karin tilted her water bottle at her sister. "You do realize he was reading porn."

Yuzu, who was pulling side-dish after side-dish out her basket, looked mildly confused. "Yes? Kakashi-san said that Naruto's master, Jiraiya, used to write them."

Naruto gave it up for a bad job and flopped onto the blanket next to Karin. She tossed him another bottle of water along with an amused smirk. Ichigo ended up sitting next to Naruto, though he had been a bit too distracted to move smoothly and had jerked and twitched like a damaged puppet as he lowered himself into a seat.

"I asked Kakashi-san if the series was any good," said Yuzu completely ignoring her brother and passing out paper plates loaded with rice. She even had enough for Kakashi. "But I thought he might be biased. What do you think, Naruto-san? You must have read them."

Naruto choked on his water. "No! I haven't read them! I mean, ero-sennin made me proofread them for him, but I haven't _read them_ read them."

"So, they're not good?" asked Yuzu ladling curry on to each plate.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably in his seat and wished Yuzu would stop asking him about porn. "No, it's definitely the best series out there."

Yuzu turned her attention on Ichigo. "You should think about buy a novel or two, Ichi-nii. You've been stressed ever since we got here. Taking some time to relax would be good for you."

Ichigo groaned and buried his face in his hands. Naruto could only make out a few words. But they were mostly variations on "why me." Naruto was just relieved she had moved on to someone else.

"That's not something you usually think about," said Karin. She looked bored by the situation rather than concerned.

"I thought it was something daddy might say," explained Yuzu. "Dig in, everyone!"

"There's your problem," said Karin reaching for her chopsticks. "If Goat-Face said it, then it's the wrong thing to say. Don't worry, Ichigo, it's just the moron bothering you across the Great Divide. Itadakimasu!"

Four voices echoed hers. Even Ichigo had managed to straighten up to eat. His face was still red, though not quite as bright as before. At least, Naruto didn't have to worry about his cousin's head exploding.

Relieved, Naruto turned his attention to his lunch. The main dish was curry again though a different style than the one they had for dinner last week, but it was still delicious. It was almost as good as Ichiraku Ramen, thought Naruto. Almost.

"Don't worry, Naruto-san. I haven't forgotten about my promise to make you ramen," said Yuzu. She blushed faintly. "I've just been a bit too tired to cook this week."

"She tried about a billion different recipes on us before that though," said Karin. "So it'll be good when she makes it."

"Of course it will!" said Naruto. "Yuzu-san is the best cook ever."

"Have you been eating out a lot then if you haven't been able to cook?" asked Kakashi. "Keeping up your strength is important when you're training hard every day."

"Oh no," said Yuzu shaking her head. "Ichi-nii cooks for us. He used to do that after mom died before I was old enough to use the stove."

"It's not as good as Yuzu's cooking, but they don't starve," said Ichigo blandly.

"Your dad didn't cook for you?" asked Naruto hesitantly.

To his surprise, all three siblings turned green.

"He tried," said Yuzu after a moment. "But cooking isn't daddy's strong point."

"Ugh, better to starve than eat that," added Karin.

"He was doing other stuff anyway," added Ichigo. "Funeral arrangements, working at the clinic, making sure we had money to buy food. Just…not fixing food. Never fixing food."

Naruto nodded. It was good that their dad hadn't abandoned them after their mom died, even if the Kurosakis did call him weird names. He had a hard time cooking himself. Other than preparing instant ramen, all Naruto knew was a bit of camp-fire cooking and whatever Sakura had been willing to show him after he returned from his trip with Jiraiya.

"Your game was very interesting," said Kakashi. "I'm not sure of all the rules, but from what I could tell, Karin was very good."

"Karin's great at soccer," said Yuzu. "She could have been a professional player right out of high school."

Karin blushed and hid a pleased smile with her plate. Naruto felt way better about losing in that case. It was impressive that he managed to keep up, and he would do better next time.

"Oh?" asked Kakashi. "And Ichigo managed to block all those shots anyway?"

Ichigo snorted. "That's because Karin made me practice with her once the neighborhood kids wised-up."

"Jinta and Ururu still played with us," said Yuzu. "And that white-haired boy Karin liked."

"Yuzu!" hissed Karin. "We're not talking about that."

There was a loud snap. Naruto turned his head to look. Ichigo had broken his chopsticks in half. Sensing where this was going, Naruto scooted out of the line of fire. Kakashi and Yuzu looked on with obvious interest.

"White-haired boy?" asked Ichigo. "Toushirou? Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou of Tenth Division? Has been playing soccer with my sister? On a regular basis?"

Naruto, who had just played soccer with Karin, thought maybe he was reading too much into things. Then again, there were quite a few full-body collisions, so maybe Ichigo had a point.

"It's ironic because daddy was the Captain of the Tenth before he met mom," Yuzu whispered to Kakashi just loud enough for everyone to hear.

The outraged cries of protest from Karin and Ichigo almost deafened Naruto stuck between them as he was. But then he noticed Yuzu's genuine soft smile and the amused twinkle in Kakashi eye, and he took in the sight of the siblings yelling at Yuzu about their father and yelling at each other about this Hitsugaya person and decided that they were having fun. Ichigo waving his hands and making threatening faces, which were more silly than scary, was the most animated he had been so far. Karin's denials were almost as passionate as her soccer game.

It was play fighting, he realized. Team Seven had never really done much play fighting. Sakura's punches had eventually changed to love-taps—just as hard but with filled affection rather than annoyance—but Naruto had never mastered the art of hitting back. His fights with Sasuke always set them as rivals, and maybe it had been friendly competition on Naruto's end, but it had still been _real_ competition. He and Sasuke could spar now as friends, but he knew Sasuke was often haunted by their fight at the Valley of the End.

Naruto hoped that if his parents had lived, if he had had other siblings, he could have had this sort of relationship with them. One where fighting wasn't always angry or for training but for fun too.

Eventually, the two settled down, and the rest of the meal continued. The conversation was light, mostly because Yuzu and Kakashi asked easy questions, and she showed off the yukata she had made for Kon during the soccer game. Karin and Ichigo weren't big talkers, Naruto had noticed, and he was happy to listen for a change.

"For dessert we have dango," said Yuzu pulling out a box.

"Ah, we've been having a lot of dango this week," said Ichigo. It didn't stop him from reaching for a skewer.

"It's Anko-sempai's favorite shop," said Yuzu. "We stop by there every day on the way to the apartment. She really likes dango."

Naruto tried to suppress snicker with only mild success. Dango was Anko's favorite food. She like dango almost as much as Naruto liked ramen, and unlike the cheerful blonde, she could get scary when someone tried to steal a bite.

"And did Anko tell you to practice on your brother and sister this weekend?" asked Kakashi drily.

"She did say I needed to practice," said Yuzu. "And Ichi-nii and Karin are fun to wind up."

Her siblings choked and sputtered. Naruto threw back his head and roared with laughter. Even Kakashi had a little chuckle.

Shortly after that, they were packing up lunch and debating whether or not to try another brief game of soccer when there was movement in the bushes. Naruto caught a glimpse of an ANBU mask but was distracted by an alarmed yelp from Karin. He turned in time to see her drop her ball and kick it at the ANBU.

The shinobi moved before it could connect, but the ball made a hole in brush and hit a tree. It took a moment for Naruto to realize he could see _through_ the first tree to the one behind it.

"What was that?" demanded Naruto.

"Karin almost took out Ne—ah, our ANBU guard," said Ichigo idly. "You're getting that by the way."

"I thought it was a Hollow," said an embarrassed Karin as she went to retrieve the ball. She shouted a casual "Sorry!" into the brush.

"Why did the ANBU remind her of a… Hollow, did you say?" asked Kakashi.

"It's the masks, right?" asked Naruto. "Ichigo said something similar a few days ago."

"Hollows wear white masks," confirmed Ichigo. "It makes the ANBU a little unnerving."

Naruto and Kakashi exchanged a look. There were plenty of reasons why the ANBU were unnerving. The masks were the least among them. Still, Kakashi didn't know that Hollows ate people. If Naruto thought anyone in a white mask wanted him for lunch, well, he'd probably be a little wary around the ANBU too.

"I've never seen one of them before," said Karin once she returned. "Why did he move like that?"

Ichigo coughed. "ANBU-san was probably trying to point out that I had a formal dinner tonight at the Hyuuga Compound so another game of soccer was probably a bad idea."

Naruto snickered. That would teach Neji to break protocol for something so silly. Naruto glanced at the tree again and that perfectly round hole. It wasn't small being the shape of a soccer ball. Karin could kill a man with an attack like that before the victim ever knew what happened, and she hadn't even hesitated.

"Those were some sharp reflexes," said Kakashi obviously following a similar train of thought.

Karin shrugged. "Hollows started showing up at most of my pick-up games in high school. I could usually keep them occupied until Ichigo or another shinigami showed up."

Naruto twitched and looked at Kakashi, but the older jounin just thought that meant a soldier of Soul Society. He had no reason to be suspicious. Still, Naruto did not approve of the curious expression overtaking Kakashi-sensei's face.

"So shinigami and Hollow are on opposite sides," said Kakashi. "Is that why they attack your games? Because your father is from Soul Society and the soldiers there are shinigami?"

Silently Naruto despaired his teacher's curiosity. Tsunade hadn't said one way or the other, but no one wanted to throw around terms like evil spirits and the afterlife casually.

Naruto knew Kakashi could keep a secret if necessary, but it shouldn't be necessary. However, if Tsunade and Naruto ordered a gag-order on questions when Tsunade wanted near constant reports on the Kurosakis, then that would make Kakashi even more suspicious. He might try to find answers without asking questions using methods like sneaking into a booby-trapped apartment.

"They went after Karin because she has strong reiatsu," said Ichigo. "Hollows are opposed to everybody, even other Hollows."

"Then how was it that you came by Hollow powers? Or am I not allowed to ask about that? The hokage ushered us out very quickly after you brought it up the other day," said Kakashi.

Ichigo's whole body stilled. His expression wasn't angry just empty. It was almost worse than anger when compared to how vivid he had been before.

"Hokage-sama wanted to confirm that despite my Hollow abilities I was not inclined toward cannibalism," he said completely ignoring both questions.

Naruto could tell that Ichigo favored lies of omission over outright untruths, but an obvious side-step like that would not stop Kakashi-sensei for long. Still, mentions of cannibalism could throw anyone off track, even the famous Copy Nin.

"Cannibalism?" repeated Kakashi.

"You don't need to worry about that from me," added Ichigo. "But we really do need to get going, Kakashi-san."

Naruto watched in stunned amazement as Ichigo turned on his heel and proceeded to walk away. Karin gave Kakashi a little wave and followed along behind bouncing her soccer ball from foot to foot as she went.

"It was good see you again, Kakashi-san," said Yuzu with a small bow. "Naruto-san, I think Karin wanted to ask you something about Sakura-sensei."

Naruto grinned. "Sure thing. Bye, Kakashi-sensei!"

Leaving his former jounin instructor behind, Naruto and Yuzu hurried to catch up with the other Kurosaki siblings. Naruto knew that he would pay for walking off and leaving Kakashi with unanswered questions. At least the man wasn't in charge of his instruction anymore. That was Tsunade, who was training him to be the next hokage.

"Karin, what did you want to know about Sakura-chan? I'm an expert."

As Karin outlined her need to discuss more specific properties of kidou healing, Naruto felt a swell of joy in his heart. She wanted his advice. They wanted him to be here. It was like joining Team Seven all over again. He knew that there was trouble on the horizon, but part of him wished days like this could last forever.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Hinata waited in the recessed alcove beside the main gate to the Hyuuga Compound. Technically, Hanabi or one of the Branch Clan should be meeting Team Three, but Hinata wanted to do it. She liked greeting visitors. She smoothed out the creases in her formal kimono—a light lavender base with darker purple butterflies along the bottom hem—and activated her byakugan. It would not do for a Hyuuga to open the door before the guest arrived or after they waited too long.

There were Kurenai and Konohamaru walking up to the gate. She had learned the pattern of Kurenai's chakra years ago. She was the easiest person for Hinata to find in the village after Naruto and Hinata's immediate family. Konohamaru was also a familiar presence. He had been to the Compound several times, usually in Hanabi's company. They often trained together, and their arguments were legendary.

Kurenai's kimono was a deep red that matched her eyes and trimmed in white. Like many shinobi women, she had cut the bottom of the kimono very short so that it just reached mid-thigh and wore leggings underneath. It was not the most formal of garments modified as it was, but all of the fabric was the finest silk, which made it acceptable to the clan elders.

Konohamaru wore dark blue kimono with subtle green stripes over grey hakama. He could not seem to remember to leave the scarf at home, even for formal dinners. Though given the blue color, it blended in rather nicely with the rest of his outfit. He had left off the formal haori too, but he had met Hiashi on several occasions, and one more piece of cloth couldn't affect her father's opinion one way or the other.

She almost missed Ichigo's arrival. The arrival of his ANBU guard seized her attention, and it took her a moment to notice him. Ichigo's chakra was dampened to the point that it appeared deliberate. That was a very advanced skill she did not expect him to know.

Somewhere Ichigo had found a formal kimono sized to fit, but she noticed immediately that he was not carrying any weapons. Hidden as she was, Hinata allowed herself a wince. The lack of armaments could be a problem once the elders started to spy on the dinner.

"You don't have any weapons," Kurenai's voice filled the alcove. "Not even your bokken."

Some long ago Hyuuga had hidden openings in the outer wall so that no conversation held outside the gates could be a secret. Hinata listened shamelessly. She was a kunoichi, and she had grown up in a family of natural voyeurs. She was practically obliged to snoop.

"Was I supposed to?" asked Ichigo.

"By coming unarmed, you imply your hosts are weak, so easy to defeat that you don't need to bother carrying a weapon," explained Kurenai.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Ninja are so weird."

Konohamaru reached into his sleeve. "You can borrow one of my kunai."

Hinata grimaced. If Ichigo only had one weapon and Konohamaru was missing one, then everyone would be able to tell what happened. It was not ideal. Even if exceptions were made for Ichigo's foreign upbringing, some would complain about his place on Team Three. Maybe she could toss a few kunai over the wall, or pass Ichigo some senbon as he entered the gate.

"No, I've got this," said Ichigo.

Kurenai raised a painted brow. "You don't have time to go back to your apartment. Being late is just as bad."

"No," said Ichigo. "Zangetsu."

A gigantic sword appeared on Ichigo's back. Hinata dismissed and reactivated her byakugan in quick succession. The weapon was still there. The hilt reared over Ichigo's right shoulder and the tip barely avoided brushing the ground behind his left foot. Yet Ichigo's back remained unbowed beneath the massive blade which had come from nowhere.

Hinata had never seen anything like it. The sword burned her in vision. It was not made of chakra. She had seen Sasuke's Karin use chakra-chains, and they looked very different to her sight. This was all light, though not painful or bright, but a steady shine—sometimes red, sometimes blue, sometimes black, but always light.

"Will this work?" asked Ichigo.

"It should be fine," said Kurenai sounding stunned. "Did you have that the whole time? No, never mind, we can discuss it later. We wouldn't want to be late."

That was Hinata's cue. She deactivated her byakugan letting the world fade back to normal sight. Then very carefully, she pulled open the primary gates. Kurenai stood in front with Ichigo slightly behind her to the left and Konohamaru on the right. They bowed, and Hinata bowed back.

Rising, Hinata had a better look at Ichigo than with the byakugan, which tended to blur colors slightly. He wore a full, formal kimono complete with haori in all black. The only exceptions were his white tabi, white obi, and, on the front his haori, two small spiral patterns in white beneath his shoulders. The only color was a dash of dark red from his under-kimono and the blue of his hitai-ate wrapped around his upper left arm.

The overall affect was chilling, Hinata decided as she led them into the house proper. No one would ever describe Ichigo's demeanor as cheerful, but now he looked cold, not hostile exactly, but distant as though the formal wear was really armor separating him from the rest of the world. He even held himself differently as if there was heavy weight on his back, a weight more significant than that of his sword. He barely acted as if the weapon was there, crossing the wooden porch outside and coasting over the tatami mats inside as silently as a ghost.

Normally, Hinata preferred to serve her family dinner, but since this was a formal occasion, her father insisted that they be served by retainers. She was able to direct their guests to the proper seats on the tatami mats. Her father was at the head of the room, farthest away from the door. Hinata would sit at her father's right hand, then on her right would be Hanabi, and next to her Konohamaru. Kurenai, as the team's instructor, would sit at Hiashi's left, then Neji, and finally Ichigo.

There was a moment of excitement when Hinata realized she did not know what to do with Ichigo's sword. They had rests for katana in other parts of the house, but she doubted they were of a size to handle the massive blade. Eventually, Ichigo rested the weapon against the wall. To her surprise, the point rested firm against the woven mat and did not sink. She thought the cloth wrapped around the blade might have been the cause, or perhaps the weapon was made of some lighter alloy, either way she was relieved.

Once all the guests were arranged, they bowed to her father, who bowed formally back, and the meal was begun. Retainers, members of the Branch House, brought in trays bearing rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, and grilled fish. After the obligatory round of compliments, and really the cooks had done a very good job, Hinata would need to thank them later, silence settled over the room as everyone started eating.

Ichigo, she observed, had much better manners than Naruto. It was not Naruto's fault. He had raised himself from a very young age with only mild guidance from the third. Jiraiya had been too wrapped up in his spy-ring to teach Naruto any normal life skills, and Sakura's time was limited with her work at the hospital. Sasuke did what he could, when he was in the village, but he was often away for the same reasons Jiraiya had been.

Still, Ichigo looked comfortable in the formal kimono and moved smoothly from dish to dish never dirtying his sleeves. He ate small bites and expressed the appropriate amount of appreciation for the food. Other than that, he was completely silent. It was amazing to think that he and Naruto were related.

After a time, Hinata realized that she had instigated their previous handful of conversations, and it would be up to her again if they were ever to learn about anything about her sister's new teammate. She latched onto the obvious, the seal on Ichigo's haori that resembled, eerily enough, the swirling tomoe of an active sharingan though the heads were closer together and tails elongated.

"I am afraid I do not recognize the spiral pattern you are wearing. Is it a symbol from your homeland, Kurosaki-san?" she asked.

Ichigo set down his chopsticks and looked at her. His face was a little friendlier than at the start of the meal but only a little. "It's the crest of House Shiba, my father's clan."

Hinata dreaded asking why Ichigo did not use his father's name. Fortunately, her father was willing to advance the conversation in her stead.

"I am not familiar with Clan Shiba," said Hiashi.

"The Shiba are one of the Five Noble Families of Soul Society, which lies outside the Elemental Countries. I wouldn't have expected you to have heard of them," said Ichigo.

He said it so casually Hinata almost missed it. However, she was a kunoichi trained to observe and record the smallest detail, and she was not the only one to take note.

"You're a noble?" asked Konohamaru loudly and with obvious dismay.

Ichigo blinked in honest surprise. "Yes, technically. Dad left the clan when he married mom, but Kukaku adopted our branch back in a few years ago. Is that bad?"

"Nobility, outside of the daimyo, who is considered something of a warlord, rarely involve themselves in military matters, Ichigo. When they do, it is almost always to hire or order troops, not fight directly," explained Kurenai.

What Kurenai did not say was that nobles were elevated record-keepers with too much time and too much money on their hands. Most of Konoha's high-ranking contracts came from nobles trying to kill one another or protect themselves from assassination. Sometimes Konoha even received contracts from both positions for the same person. It was up to the hokage to decide which contract the village would accept. Generally, the higher paying contract was chosen though exceptions were made for individuals who had very good or very bad relations with the village.

Still, Ichigo's look of surprise had shifted to understanding. "It was similar in Japan, where I grew up, back when there were nobles. It's mostly the same in Soul Society too. However, the Clan Heads of the Five Families usually serve in the Court Guard as captains, and the lower nobility recognize achieving high rank as an accomplishment. But rank is always determined by skill."

Hinata was curious about Ichigo's homeland, Japan. She had never heard of a system that shunned nobility entirely. Even Konoha had the Clan Council where the more prominent families debated law. She wanted to ask but knew they were supposed to be assessing Ichigo's skills tonight.

Neji leaned in from his seat. "What was your rank, Ichigo-san? You mentioned you had duties assigned by the Court Guard as a shinigami."

Hinata's eyebrows raised of her own accord. Neji looked utterly serious, but there was a touch of teasing in his voice. Team Three mirrored her expression of surprise, but her father did not. Doubtless, Neji had reported what he knew of Ichigo to Hiashi when they learned Ichigo would be on Hanabi's team for the Exams.

"Yes, yes, it's a pretentious title," said Ichigo with a scowl. "It's better than psychopomp, alright?"

Hinata grew confused. She had never heard the word psychopomp before. Perhaps it was another title for soldiers in Ichigo's homeland. Still, Ichigo continued on regardless.

"I was a substitute," said Ichigo. "Or a reservist? Do you have those here? I mostly patrolled Karakura Town in place of the regular squad member stationed there, but I was called in for emergencies. Eventually, they had another shinigami take over when…when I moved to go to university. But I helped out around there too."

Ichigo might scowl and frown most of the time, but that tiny grimace was a reflection of deeper pain. This was not an interrogation despite her father's feelings on the matter. She could direct the conversation away from that topic.

"So, you joined the ranks of Soul Society because that was traditional for members of Clan Shiba?" asked Hinata.

Ichigo stared. "I—no—I didn't know any of that when I started. A Hollow attacked our house and the squad member on patrol got hurt pretty bad protecting me. I used her zanpaktou to kill the Hollow and then kept up with her duties until she…went back. I got Zangetsu around that time, so I was able to keep Karakura clear pretty easily. It was almost a year before I found out my dad was from Soul Society and even longer before I learned he was a Shiba."

If the story was true, and Hinata was inclined to the think so, then Ichigo sounded quite noble to her. But she was curious as to how he had grown up not knowing his father's origins. It seemed unfathomable to her. "Was there a reason for that, Kurosaki-san?"

"Mom's ancestors and Soul Society had fought each other in the past. I guess my parents thought we would be safer if we didn't know anything," explained Ichigo with a shrug.

Hinata suppressed a wince, but Ichigo did not sound upset or resigned. He was accepting as though it was normal to have family on different sides of a war, or that having his true heritage hidden from him was no matter. Then again, normal family histories did not carry the same weight as those of clans such as the Hyuuga.

"But you feel comfortable wearing the Shiba Crest despite that conflict?" asked Hiashi. If Ichigo's family did not live in Soul Society, and his father had abandoned that name, then they obviously allied with his mother's clan.

Ichigo scoffed. "Kukaku practically forced me into it. She said that if I had to make a mess then at least people should know who was responsible." At their blank stares he added, "The crest symbolizes the Eddy of Heaven. The Shiba Clan tends to stir things up."

Hiashi's expression went blank in a way Hinata _knew_ meant "oh no, another one." She saw it a lot when Neji's team came to visit. Her father was proud of his nephew, but Gai and Lee together were a touch too much for traditional Hyuuga sensibilities. If Ichigo was anything like Naruto, Hinata expected she would be seeing a lot more of that expression.

Hinata thought she could ease the conversation away from that direction to spare her father a little pain though personally she was interested in the messes Ichigo had made. She suspected he meant something more important than painting the Hokage monument with graffiti.

"Kurosaki-san, Hanabi has discussed your past few missions with us. She mentioned during the Tora Mission," Hinata ignored the black aura that surrounded her sister; Hanabi would get over it someday, "that you were able to stop the cat from biting you. Did you poison your hand?"

That was the method that had occurred to Hinata and Neji when they had heard Hanabi's description of the events. But she insisted that Ichigo had not moved or done anything to indicate the use of poison.

"No," said Ichigo sounding vaguely alarmed. "I used Blut Vene, a Quincy technique, to make my hand really hard. Tora felt like he bit into a rock the second time."

There was a pleased sound from Hanabi. Hinata ignored that too. There had only been a little bit of swamp muck. Not to mention, the trip through the tannery and the red light district were valuable life experiences. She was overreacting.

"A Quincy technique?" asked Hinata. "What does that mean?"

Ichigo frowned. "The Kurosakis were a Quincy Clan. They were…how did Naruto say it?" The frowned clear. "Right, he said it was a kekkei genkai."

Kurenai choked on her rice and reached frantically for her tea cup. The rest of them simply stared at Ichigo in shock. He was a noble _and_ a possessor of a kekkei genkai, and neither of those facts seemed worth mentioning to him.

Hinata thought perhaps he was a bit too much like Naruto in that regard. Taking pride in one's abilities was important, especially for shinobi who, by the nature of their work, often had few positive feelings but pride.

"You have a kekkei genkai that makes you stronger?" asked Neji faintly.

Ichigo's scowl returned. "It doesn't make me stronger, exactly. Blut Vene increases my endurance so that opponents' strikes do less damage. Blut Arterie increases offensive ability by making my attacks more powerful and me a little faster. But they have limitations. They're impossible to use at the same time, and they take a lot of energy."

"Have you been using them at morning practice?" asked Neji.

"No!" protested Ichigo sounding scandalized. "I told Lee I wouldn't be using any special techniques."

Neji gave him a pointed look. "No ninjutsu or genjutsu. What you're describing is still taijutsu. I'm telling Lee and Gai that you're holding out on them. Lee especially. He wants to go faster, but he's worried that you're going to start vomiting blood again."

"That was one time!" said Ichigo. "That was using a completely different method. Anyway, that's not appropriate dinner conversation."

"This is a dinner with shinobi," said Hanabi cheekily.

Kurenai, having recovered from her choking spell, turned accusing red eyes on Ichigo. "The hokage didn't tell me you have a kekkei genkai! Why haven't we been training it? What can you do?"

Ichigo blinked at her. "I don't know why she didn't tell you. She knows Uzumaki Mamoru married into the Kurosaki Clan. As for, why we haven't been training it?" He held up a hand to start counting the reasons. "You've been teaching me ninja stuff. I'm better with Zangetsu. There isn't an archery range anywhere that I can find, and a lot of Quincy techniques involve shaping reishi into arrows."

"We have an archery range," said Hinata.

Immediately she blushed and glanced at her father. She ought not to have volunteered the use of the Hyuuga range to outsiders without consulting the Clan Head first. Hiashi looked amused by her outburst rather than angry.

"We do have an archery range," he said. "It is not an art commonly practiced among shinobi of Konoha, but we find it advantageous when paired with our byakugan."

"I can see why," said Ichigo. His frown turned hesitant. "I thought the Hyuuga style focused on close-quarters combat."

"The Gentle Fist requires it, yes," said Hiashi. "But our elderly and those otherwise retired from the ranks cannot always use Gentle Fist due to physical limitations. Archery allows them to participate in the defense of the clan, should it be necessary."

"That's why the Quincy use bows too," admitted Ichigo. "I can make a sword to, but I don't need to since I have Zangetsu."

Hinata turned her attention to the blade. She imagined it was a beautiful weapon underneath the cloth wrappings. Another sword would be superfluous and impossible to wield. The sheer size of this weapon indicated a need for a two-handed grip.

Hinata wanted to ask about it, but Ichigo had taken up his bowl and chopsticks while the other diners studied the sword. A little guiltily, Hinata realized they had been keeping him from his meal with their constant questions.

Instead, she asked after Kurenai's daughter. Kurenai talked enthusiastically about her progress in the Academy and her growing prowess at strategy and tactics. That was mostly in part to her baby-sitters, Konohamaru, who excelled in tactics, and Shikamaru, who was a master of the long game.

"Shikamaru is keeping her tonight," said Kurenai. "Nara-san thinks it's good practice for when he has children, but I don't know how true that is. She loves playing shogi for hours, and most kids aren't that relaxed. Not to mention, Shikamaru isn't too enthusiastic about having children of his own."

"It might be difficult with Temari in Suna," admitted Hinata.

"We have good relations with Suna though," said Konohamaru. "Naruto and Gaara are great friends."

"Which is why we have such hopes for the Chunin Exams this year," said Hiashi. "Suna will not encourage any sabotage against your team. Along those lines, Kurosaki-san, what sort of combat experience will you be bringing to the Exams?"

At least Ichigo had time to finish eating while Kurenai was talking, thought Hinata. But she was interested in the answer as well. This was her little sister's teammate and Naruto's cousin. Even Neji appeared interested, and he had spent more time with Ichigo than anyone else.

"My combat experience?" asked Ichigo. "Like I mentioned earlier, I patrolled Karakura for Hollows. There were a few, very brief wars and the occasional odd incident. But for the most part, I fought Hollows."

"And how does a Hollow rank compared to a shinobi?" asked Hiashi mildly.

"We mostly saw basic Hollow and Huge Hollow in Karakura. Those are about genin and chunin level respectively," said Ichigo. He paused and considered. "There was that time Ishida's Hollow-bait summoned a Menos Grande, but that ended up okay."

Neji was staring at Ichigo as if he were expecting more. But Ichigo seemed to content to let that be the summary of his actions.

Hinata thought that if they pressed, they might get more, but she suspected Ichigo would resent them for it. Antagonizing the shinobi that Tsunade-sama herself had selected to complete Team Three would not be wise.

Her father seemed to be thinking the same thing. He followed a different line of inquiry turning his attention to weapon Ichigo had brought with him.

"This Zangetsu is the sword you used when fighting Hollows?" he asked.

Ichigo nodded. "Yes. I've needed to have Zangetsu re-forged a few times. But this last time, we found a good form. It hasn't broken since."

Hinata kept her face clear, but on the inside she was astonished. If Ichigo had fought hard enough and often enough to break his blade more than once, then that meant he had done much more fighting than his description of patrolling suggested. She doubted it was a flaw of the blade that had caused it to break so frequently. Any sensible warrior would discard a sword if the metal was weak.

"May I examine the blade more closely?" asked Hiashi.

Ichigo looked surprised by the request and turned his head to look at the sword. After a minute he shrugged and said, "It should be okay."

He got up and retrieved the sword. As Ichigo knelt between Hiashi and Kurenai, the wrapping around the blade unraveled on its own. Hinata observed curiously that the cloth hanging from the hilt of the weapon did not appear to be enough to cover the whole thing. Then again, she had seen him materialize the blade out of nothing, perhaps the excess wrappings were stored somewhere else.

"It resembles a straight-edge Khyber knife," said Hiashi. "I have never seen one so large before."

Large was perhaps an understatement. The blade was nearly as long as man was tall. Made primarily of an unfamiliar dark black metal that Hinata had never seen, only the single edge held the silvery sheen she normally associated with bladed weapons. Oddly, the sword had no guard or pommel, just the white cloth wrapped around the tang to serve as a grip. Clearly it was not a weapon meant for defense.

"Ah, you recognize it," said Ichigo. "I got yelled at the first time I called it a kitchen knife."

Hinata covered her smile with her hand. It would not be fair to laugh at Ichigo for a mistake long-past. But what sort of warrior could not identify his own weapon?

"May I hold it?" asked Hiashi.

Ichigo's wary expression returned, but eventually he nodded in agreement. There was an awkward shuffle when Kurenai and Hinata backed away so neither would get in the way of the weapon, and Ichigo had to flip it around, so he could hand Hiashi the flat edge.

Once he had Zangetsu firmly in his grip, Hiashi studied the blade with much more interest. "It could almost be mistaken for one of the weapons belonging to the seven ninja swordsmen of the mist. Though I am surprised, since all seven are much heavier than Zangetsu."

Visibly alarmed, Ichigo opened his mouth to reply. Whatever he intended to say was lost as Hiashi abruptly dropped his hands to his lap as though the sword had become inexplicably heavy. A moment later, her father dropped as well when the tatami below him crumpled.

The blade wavered dangerously, and the sharp edge slowly angled down. Before the sword could come close to cutting Hiashi, Ichigo reached out and grabbed the blade-edge with one hand, easily lifting it from her father's hands.

"Sorry about that," said Ichigo. "Zangetsu's very proud. I thought he would behave, but I guess not."

The blade flashed dangerously but still did not bite into Ichigo's hand. In a few easy movements, Ichigo had the sword wrapped once more and secured on his back. He paused where he stood looking down on the assembled diners.

"Um, I don't think I should put Zangetsu down just yet," he said carefully.

Her father was still reeling from the near-loss of his knees, so it was probably for the best that dinner came to an end. Hinata smiled at her guests.

"I would never wish to make you feel unwelcome, but I am afraid we do not have any entertainment scheduled for the evening," she said.

Everyone understood her meaning. Konohamaru and Kurenai had both finished eating, and they all had plenty to think about, except perhaps Ichigo, who was looking guilty and awkward. After bowing to the rest of her family, Hinata led remainder of Team Three back to the gate.

Konohamaru and Kurenai bade her a good night and wandered off to collect Kurenai's daughter from Shikamaru. Ichigo hesitated before leaving.

"I'm sorry about making a mess, Hyuuga-san," he said. "I can probably pay for a new tatami."

Hinata smiled. "It was only a mat and my father's pride. The mat we can replace easily. The latter, well, pride is something we Hyuuga have in abundance; he will recover. There is no reason to fret Kurosaki-san."

"If you're sure," said Ichigo. He bowed again. "Thank you for the meal. It was a feast."

Hinata bowed back. "Thank you for coming, Kurosaki-san. I will see you tomorrow."

Ichigo blanched. "Are we doing this again tomorrow?"

Hinata giggled slightly. "No, maybe again before the Chunin Exams, or after if things go well. But I heard Cousin Neji insist that he would be telling his team about your abilities. I thought I might stop by to watch, if you don't mind."

Ichigo sighed running his hands through his hair. "I almost forgot about that. They're going to be even worse now."

"You mean, Youthful, Kurosaki-san," said Hinata.

"Of course," said Ichigo with a wry smile. "How could I forget? See you in the morning then, Hyuuga-san."

Ichigo finally departed. Hinata was almost tempted to activate her byakugan in case he ran into any trouble on the way. Then she remembered the ANBU guard that had followed him to the house. Ichigo would be perfectly safe. Hinata would see him in the morning.

Hinata shut the gate firmly and turned back to the house. She had a dinner to clean up, a house-hold to run, and a father to console. She was far too busy to give in to passing whimsy. She would _not_ peek.

Hinata peeked. Just a little. She was a shinobi. No one could blame her for doing her job.

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Konohamaru opened his eyes and shut off his alarm with a groan. The red light and loud noise was bad enough, the bold five o'clock was a true assault on his senses. It was a completely unreasonable time to be awake on a Sunday morning without a mission to make it worthwhile. He sat up blinking the last of the sleep from his eyes. He did a mission of sorts.

Half-awake, Konohamaru pulled on his training outfit and fixed himself breakfast. He was pretty sure orange juice did not belong in his cereal once he started eating, but it was too early for him to care. It was almost the same as a serving of fruit. Moegi and Udon pestered him about that sort of thing all the time.

A short time later, teeth freshly cleaned and hair almost brushed, Konohamaru set out from his house. He knew where he was going at least. Everyone knew which training ground Team Gai used for morning practice in order to avoid it at all costs. Tenten and Neji weren't as bad as Lee and Gai, but any one of them felt free to demand a practice fight from anyone foolish enough to show up. Konohamaru was willing to risk that none of the taijutsu experts would consider him a challenge.

He landed with a crash, his usual method, and recovered with a sloppier roll than was typical. He even gave up his pose half-way through as a bad job. Konohamaru was _not_ a morning person unless the safety of the village was as stake.

"I'm surprised to see you out of bed this early."

Konohamaru blinked as he recognized Aunt Kurenai's voice. Looking around, he realized he wasn't the only visitor. His aunt, Hanabi, and her sister were also there. Hinata looked impeccably dressed. But he was happy to see Hanabi looked equally displeased by the early morning hour.

"Why are all of you here?" asked Tenten.

She was considered the sane member of Team Gai, but she still looked depressingly awake to Konohamaru.

Standing next to her, Neji smirked. "Last night, Ichigo told us that he has a kekkei genkai that enchances taijutsu ability and that he hasn't been using it. They all wanted to see the fight this morning."

The rest of his team looked stunned. But while Lee appeared excited, Gai was more reserved. He turned to Aunt Kurenai for confirmation.

"That's what he said," agreed Kurenai. "And it will be a good opportunity to gauge Ichigo's taijutsu level. Hanabi's the only one of our team that specializes in that area."

"He is most skilled," said Gai. He gazed over Konohamaru's head. "Speaking of which..."

Konohamaru turned and almost got a foot to the face for the effort. At the last moment, Ichigo seemed to gather a bit more speed and landed behind Konohamaru instead of on top of him. Konohamaru turned back around ready to yell his frustrations to the sky but was stopped by the utterly dismayed on Ichigo's face.

"You're all here?" he asked. Superfluously, in Konohamaru's opinion.

Obviously they were there. Konohamaru had almost had his head kicked in being so at hand.

"Ichigo! Neji mentioned you have a kekkei genkai that enhances physical ability!" said Lee. "Why did you not reveal it before?"

Ichigo glared at Neji, but even Konohamaru could tell it was for show.

"It's an advance skill, and I thought this was just simple practice," said Ichigo. "And I'm not the best at using it."

"What better place to practice your skill than among those immersed in the Springtime of Youth?" said Gai apparently over his reservations.

Konohamaru twitched and slunk over to stand next to Aunt Kurenai and the Hyuuga heiresses. He was taller than all three, but if he ducked down, then he could definitely hide behind them.

After a series of threats and cajoling cries, Ichigo finally agreed to use his kekkei genkai. Watching the group warm up was almost enough to lull Konohamaru into a false sense of security. It almost made him want to stretch. But if he so much as moved, he would be drawn into the madness with no hope of escape.

Eventually though, Ichigo and Lee deemed themselves ready to fight. The other members of Team Gai joined the rest of them on the sidelines, and all three Hyuuga activated their byakugan.

"So, there are two modes: defense and offense, but they can't be used at the same time," said Ichigo. "Which one would you rather see?"

"Offense," said Lee brightly. "Let us see what sort of damage you can do."

Ichigo nodded. He closed his eyes and concentrated. After a moment, he opened them again. "Ready."

Konohamaru didn't notice anything different. He glanced at Hanabi.

"I can't see any difference," she said in response to his look.

"Maybe a thickening of chakra," suggested Hinata.

"Ichigo doesn't use his chakra to enhance his movements normally," said Neji. "They don't use it at all wherever he's from."

Lee and Ichigo got started. Lee attacked while for the most part Ichigo dodged. Even though Lee increased his speed with each hit and Ichigo kept up easily, it didn't seem out of the ordinary, especially if the growing look on frustration on Lee's face was any indication.

"Don't be a wimp, Kurosaki. Hit him," called Tenten.

Ichigo started in surprise, but the next time Lee got close, Ichigo slipped under his guard and slapped him in the chest with both hands. Konohamaru was in a position to see the veins on Ichigo's hands turn black, and presumably the Hyuuga saw more, but they were all distracted by the way Lee went flying up and over the tree line on the opposite side of the training grounds.

There was a loud crash from somewhere out of sight. Evidently, Lee had landed badly.

Ichigo turned and pointed. "Is he?"

"He's fine," said Neji. "What did you do?"

"I attacked him?" suggested Ichigo like he wasn't really sure. "It's what you wanted."

A moment later, Lee bounded out of the shrubbery. "That was amazing! Youthful energy surely fueled your strike. May I remove my weights, Gai-sensei?"

"It is your own decision, Lee," said Gai fondly. His expression turned serious. "However, do not forget that this is a practice bout. Your Flames and Ichigo's should only inspire not destroy."

"Weights?" muttered Ichigo.

Konohamaru assumed he had filtered out the rest. He had only been sparring with Team Gai for little more than a week. Perhaps that was long enough to acclimate to the energetic jounin and his pupil. The thought gave Konohamaru chills.

Lee promptly sat down and started unwrapping his arms and legs. He had lots of practice by this poinit, and in short order all the bandages were removed. He tossed the weights aside casually, forming small impact craters as they hit the earth.

"Weights," said Ichigo. "Right."

Lee stood up. "Let us begin again. I will be much faster this time, Ichigo!"

He was faster, so much faster that Konohamaru had a hard time tracking his movements. A glance at Hanabi showed she was having similar difficulty. A sharingan would be useful in a situation like this.

Ichigo didn't have the same problem as the other genin. He was keeping up just fine. He kicked Lee in the side, but Lee got his arms up in time to block and only went skidding part way across the clearing this time. Lee was getting in several hits of his own, but Ichigo seemed to shrug them off easily enough despite using the offensive manifestation of his kekkei genkai.

Konohamaru missed the exact sequence of events, but on second Lee and Ichigo were up, and the next, Lee was on the ground. Ichigo aimed a punch at Lee's face, who rolled out of the way. Ichigo stopped before he could hit the ground, but something, the force of his attack maybe, kept going.

An impact crater blossomed beneath his fist almost half a meter deep in the center and three meters in diameter. Lee, caught by surprise, tumbled backwards into the crater, rolling to a stop against Ichigo's outstretched arm. The two stared at one another before Ichigo pulled back and Lee jumped to his feet.

"Most impressive," said Lee. "I would have to release a gate to mimic the feat."

"Thanks," said Ichigo. He didn't seem too concerned about almost crushing Lee's head. But he had probably anticipated Lee's ability to dodge.

"You are most welcome. Shall we go again?" asked Lee.

"Perhaps Ichigo might demonstrate the defensive manifestation of his kekkei genkai," suggested Gai. He didn't look worried either, but Konohamaru thought there might have been some extra tension in his stance.

"That's fine with me," said Ichigo.

"It is more than acceptable," said Lee moving into his starting position. "Let me know when you are ready."

Ichigo took a deep breath. There was still no visible change that Konohamaru could see. But he had to have done _something_.

"Alright, ready," he said. Ichigo shifted into an opening stance opposite Lee's.

After a moment, Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast charged aiming a punch at Ichigo's jaw. Konohamaru realized just before the hit connected that Ichigo wasn't going to move.

There was a crunch. Ichigo's skin glowed with the same black lines at the point of contact, and Lee turned white with pain.

"Oh dear," said Hinata. "I can fix your hand Lee-san."

Hinata hurried over to the pair to begin healing Lee's cracked knuckles. Ichigo stood a few feet back watching with interest.

"I didn't think you would believe me if I said punching wouldn't work," he explained. "Blut Vene hardens the blood vessel and makes the skin almost impossible to pierce."

"An impenetrable offense," said Lee weakly. "That feels much better. Thank you, Hinata-san."

Hinata gave him a look. "Don't use that hand to fight anymore today. If you do, I'll tell Sakura and have her yell at you." She turned to Ichigo. "It does seem impossible to beat, if nothing can penetrate your skin."

Ichigo blushed faintly. "Well, almost impossible, it can be torn with enough force."

"Sounds like a job for me," said Tenten. "Call up that sword of yours, and let's go."

Ichigo stared at her. "You want me to use Zangetsu _and_ Blut Vene?"

"You promised me a match with the real thing," said Tenten. "And, wasn't it you who said it didn't feel right to fight an unarmed opponent? That bokken may be a weapon, but it's not a blade."

"If you insist," said Ichigo reaching over his shoulder.

Konohamaru watched carefully, but he still couldn't tell how Ichigo summoned the massive sword. One moment there was nothing, and the next there was a sword strapped to his back. It looked damned impressive though—almost as good as one of Konohamaru's top-tier ninjutsu or Aunt Kurenai's genjutsu.

The next match got underway, and Konohamaru stared in amazement as Ichigo casually batted Tenten's flurry of weapons from the air with his sword. The ones that he missed, just bounced off his skin.

After a few unsuccessful tries, Tenten called over Neji to help her out. She would throw the weapons, and the ones that Ichigo deflected, Neji could direct back with his kaiten ability. For his part, Ichigo didn't seem bothered at all as he faced off against one of the deadliest taijutsu combinations in Konoha. When they started to speed up, he even seemed to be having a good time.

"We are going to die in taijutsu practice," said Konohamaru quietly to his teammate.

Beside him, Hanabi's grin was vicious. "Who cares if we get pounded in taijutsu practice? We are going to _dominate_ in the Exams."

Konohamaru returned her grin with one of his own. Hope swelled in his chest. "Oh yeah, this year we are going to win."

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Before anyone bites my head off about the population figures, in 2014, the population of the Earth is just about 7.1 billion. In 2020, it's supposed to be closer to be 8 billion or more. Likewise I dropped about 2 million people from the current population of Japan because that country is experiencing population decline. (Technically, Bleach is set in the early 2000s, but why use those numbers when modern ones are scarier?)

For the Naruto-verse, there isn't a hard number for the population. So, I put it just slightly above the population for South-East Asia (which does not include China). Also, in my search it popped up that Nagato mentioned affecting hundreds of millions with his plans, so I figured that ~700 million was a good number.

Before anyone bites my head off about Ichigo's display of abilities or lack thereof, Ichigo is an above captain-class fighter who is used to fighting other captain-class fighters. Lee and Tenten, at their very absolute best, are on par with weaker lieutenant-level fighters. They are more technically skilled than Ichigo, so they tend to win when both sides are holding back. The shinobi are holding back because it's a friendly spar, and they don't want to hurt or potentially kill Ichigo. Ichigo is holding back because it's a friendly spar, and he doesn't want to crush them into pulp.

At this point, everybody who has seen him fight thinks Ichigo is strong but not _that_ strong, except for Naruto and Tsunade, who know for sure, and Gai and Kakashi, who suspect. Other people will start to suspect, but no one else will know for sure until later on.

This is the chapter that did not want to be written. Ichigo kept accidentally spilling the beans in one or two sentences, which was silly because he's still a little paranoid about telling most people. Then I would start to write reactions and think, no, this is not where I'm going.

To make up for the frustration, this chapter is about twice as long as normal. Woo!

Thanks for reading, and please review.


	11. Chapter 11

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Soul of Fire

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Sakura stood with her hands on her hips and surveyed the tree-covered training ground with an approving eye. It was virtually identical to the area where Tsunade had first taught her how to enhance her attacks with chakra. It would be a good place for Karin to learn.

She glanced at her student. Karin's training outfit brought to mind Sakura's own red dress. Though with the muted colors and the gaiters, it was far more practical than Sakura's had ever been. Sakura's bright clothing and pink hair made her a target on the battlefield, but she was strong enough now to wear those colors with pride.

"Most medic-nin learn basic medical jutsu first and have much more experience with chakra manipulation before they even begin this method," she began.

Karin snapped to attention. Her body quivered, betraying her excitement, even as her face remained calm. Sakura added bio-feedback as another thing for the girl to practice.

"However, given the recent kidnappings, Tsunade-shishou and I agree that you should start learning the offensive applications first. This will also help you control your chakra when you begin performing medical ninjutsu on patients," explained Sakura.

"And what are we doing, Sakura-sensei?" asked Karin. "You said we would be evaluating my hand-to-hand abilities today, but now you're talking about chakra control."

Sakura grinned as she pulled on her gloves. "Any shinobi can use chakra to enhance their strength and speed. By constantly flooding the muscles with chakra, hits can do m-uch more damage."

She channeled chakra into her and punched the ground. Her fist sank into the ground up to her wrist. She let Karin look into the hole and then motioned for her to move back.

"Medical jutsu require perfect chakra control, and with that sort of precision trained medic-nin can apply the most chakra at the perfect instant to have the greatest impact," she continued.

Sakura hauled back her fist and punched the ground again. This time earth shattered into thousands of pieces forcing Karin to jump back or fall over. Sakura was pleased to see the girl managed to land on her feet. She smirked at the awed expression on Karin's face.

"That's called Cherry Blossom Impact," said Sakura. "Your goal for today is breaking the first layer of the earth by gathering chakra in your fist and releasing it the moment you hit the ground."

"Awesome," said Karin. Her expression grew curious. "But then, if I'm going to be practicing, then what will you do?"

Sakura flexed her hands. "You'll be learning the same way I did. In the field, you'll be under constant attack and still have to perform perfectly. Prove to me that you can do it, and I'll stop for the day."

"Oh," said Karin nervously. "When do we start?"

"Right now."

Sakura punched at Karin, who dodged, and hit a tree, which exploded on impact. Karin had one advantage over Sakura, when she first started training, and that was her already impressive stamina and chakra reserves. Sakura had started out with perfect control and been able to build up her reserves over the years, but she would never possess the massive strength and stamina of Tsunade. If Karin learned Tsunade's technique, well, Sakura would have to see if she was capable first but the potential was huge.

"Now, the original purpose of this technique is to scare off your attackers so you can heal your teammates without interference," said Sakura. "You'll want to aim at rocks and trees so I can't get close."

Karin darted toward Sakura and punched the dirt. She had started channeling chakra too early and only made a small dent in the ground. She had been able to channel chakra into her hand though, otherwise she would have broken a bone.

Sakura quickly covered the mark with a strike of her own, breaking the top layer of the soil in all directions. She didn't have to use her Cherry Blossom attack every time. That would be a waste of chakra.

Karin continued to retaliate throwing punch after punch at the ground, at the trees, at the occasional large rock. Every strike was a little closer to perfect. She always managed to get out of range of Sakura's hits too, even it meant jumping into a tree or throwing herself on the ground. She received less damage that way than by staying still and being hit by shrapnel which meant she could keep going.

Sakura was impressed despite herself. She hadn't really expected for Karin to get it on the first day. Sakura had collapsed from chakra exhaustion before she managed the first time, but Karin was still going even as the afternoon stretched and the shadows grew long.

At one point, Karin landed behind Sakura intending to strike at the large boulder she had at her back. Sakura jabbed back with her elbow, exploding the rock before the other girl could make contact. She used less chakra than usual, so the boulder only split into a few pieces rather than several. She didn't hear Karin moving away and worried that she may have been caught in the explosion anyway.

When Sakura turned to look, Karin was standing still wearing an expression of amazement. It quickly shifted to calculating as Sakura watched.

"You can use chakra with any part of your body?" she asked. "Even the feet?"

Sakura gave a rueful smile. She had never taught a complete beginner before, so she probably could have explained a little more. And while the Academy at the curriculum had advanced since she graduate, they still left potentially dangerous ideas like tree-walking to be taught to actual genin by their jounin instructors.

"You can channel chakra from any part of the body even the feet," confirmed Sakura. "Though the bottom of the foot is the hardest area to use for that purpose."

Karin didn't seem to hear that part. "If you can use the feet, then it's like kicking a ball at the just the right point…"

Sakura watched in amusement as Karin eyed a nearby oak. The girl pulled her leg up and struck the tree with a roundhouse kick at just about chest-height.

Splinters flew everywhere. The crown toppled to the earth as Karin's kick reduced the tree-trunk to little more than sawdust.

"Was that right, Sakura-sensei?" asked Karin as she turned back around.

Sakura marshalled her stunned expression into something more appropriate for a teacher. "That was excellent, Karin. But using your feet is supposed to be harder than using your hands. Not the other way around."

Karin shrugged though she was obviously pleased. "I play a lot of soccer. You have to hit the ball just right or it won't go where you want it, especially if it's spinning. Then I had to learn how to add reiatsu to my kick too when Hollows started attacking."

"Oh?" asked Sakura. "I guess reiatsu really is a lot like chakra then, if you can use it the same way."

Karin had grown tense while Sakura spoke, but after a moment, her shoulders relaxed and she took a calming breath. "Naruto we could trust you, so Ichi-nii thought I would be okay if I told you about reiatsu and that sort of thing, if you want to know."

Sakura gave a fond smile. Of course Naruto thought she was trustworthy. She looked over the destroyed training grounds. It was probably enough for today.

"I just want to test one more thing, and then we can talk about it," she said.

Karin tensed automatically when Sakura reached for a pocket in her vest. Sakura grinned at her response.

"No, no more of that kind of testing. Though we will try again tomorrow, and you will need to use your hands," she said.

She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and held it up for Karin to see. "This is elemental paper. It's made from a tree specially nurtured to be sensitive to chakra."

"What does it do?" asked Karin curiously.

"Shinobi use it to determine their elemental affinity," explained Sakura. "Every person has a natural affinity for one of the five major elements though it is possible to learn an additional affinity with practice. My affinity is earth."

She channeled a bit of chakra into the paper. It turned to dirt and crumbled. She brushed off her hands and retrieved another piece for Karin.

"And I just put some chakra into it?" asked Karin.

"That's right," said Sakura.

Karin stared at the paper. A moment later, it went limp in her hand as it grew soggy.

"Looks like you have a water affinity," said Sakura. "There are lots medical jutsu where that affinity can be useful. It's also supposed to be common among the members of the Uzumaki Clan."

Karin gave a tiny smile. "Maybe there's something in one of grandfather's scrolls. They have all sorts of things in them."

"Scrolls from Uzumaki Mamoru?" asked Sakura raising her brow. "It's possible, just check with me or Naruto or Iruka-sensei before you try anything."

"Of course," said Karin quickly.

Sakura gave her a pointed look. She knew Naruto. If Karin was anything like her cousin, she would jump into a situation without considering the consequences.

Karin raised her hands to ward off Sakura's glare. "I won't. Not like _some_ people."

Sakura lessened her glare. Probably the brother. He was Kurenai's problem for now. If necessary, Sakura could suggest to Naruto that Ichigo might hurt himself practicing on his own. Naruto could stop it but would probably work himself into a panic in the process. There hadn't been any evidence of that sort of behavior yet; though she had heard a few rumors about the kidnappings and his practice with Team Gai.

"Tell me any way," said Sakura. "Most of Uzu's techniques have been lost. There might be something we can use. Now, what can you tell me about chakra?"

Karin hesitated. She glanced into the trees. Sakura realized after a moment that she was looking for the ANBU who was tasked with security detail.

"ANBU-san can stay out of hearing range, if you think he needs to," said Sakura. "But they are trusted with the most secrets in the village."

"Then Tsunade-sama can tell them," said Karin flatly. "You might want to sit down."

Sakura raised her brow and took a seat on a piece of shattered rock. She gestured for Karin to sit across from her and prepared to listen.

Karin outlined the whole situation from start to finish. They weren't from some distant country beyond the borders of the Elemental Countries; they were from a different dimension entirely. In Karin's home dimension, there were several planes of existence, one of which was Soul Society, the afterlife. Her father was a shinigami, a spirit from Soul Society, who guided lost souls to the afterlife and fought evil spirits called Hollows. Her mother had been a human from a clan of spiritual mediums, which also fought Hollows, which was how her parents had been able to meet.

Their heritage meant Karin and her siblings had been born with great spiritual energy, reiryoku, which could be felt and manipulated as spiritual pressure, reiatsu. The reason healing kidou didn't work on normal humans was because it was designed for use on bodies composed of spirit particles, reishi, or put more simply, healing kidou repaired damage done to souls rather than physical bodies.

By the end, Sakura had her answers, but she had a thousand more questions. "You're not a human?"

Karin actually rolled her eyes. "We're all human. But that's the problem. The Central 46 think they have power over everything having to do with spirits. But we're alive, so we're not subject to their authority. Ichigo is really strong. The Central Chambers ordered his death—and ours too—so they could have his power. It's why we had to leave."

Sakura closed her eyes briefly. That explained so much, or at least, why there were only rumors about Ichigo after two full weeks in the village. She would hesitate to reveal her abilities, even those that would marked her as a valuable medic-nin, if she had to take refuge in another village. Not that Sakura would be able to hide in a ninja village. As Tsunade's premier apprentice, she was almost as recognizable as her master.

She looked at Karin. "But to travel to a completely different dimension, is that even possible?"

"If it weren't, we wouldn't be here," said Karin bluntly. "But Naruto said it might be possible. You'd have to ask him or Tsunade-sama. She got some sort of book from grandfather that convinced her."

"I think I will," said Sakura. "Not that I don't believe you…"

"But it sounds unbelievable," said Karin. "I understand. I grew up seeing ghosts and sometimes I don't believe it. Dad never said anything, even after mom died and Ichigo almost—

Karin cut herself off. Normally, Sakura would have been supportive, or at least sympathetic, but she was still trying to process everything. Beneath the shock there was anger on behalf of her student, but it was buried deep.

Instead, Sakura rose to her feet. "I'll walk you home. Then, I think I'll go track down Naruto and ask him. We'll start up again tomorrow."

"Okay," said Karin sounding relieved. She wobbled a bit getting to her feet. "I guess I'm more tired than I though."

Sakura suspected it was a combination of exhaustion from training and relief from talking about her situation, but she wasn't going to point that out to Karin. No doubt the girl knew already.

"We're trying to land you in the hospital as a doctor, not a patient," she said. "Be sure to get plenty of rest and eat a big meal to restore your chakra."

"Yes, Sakura-sensei," said Karin as she carefully picked her way across the ruined training ground. "Speaking of patients, you need to schedule an appointment for Kakashi-san."

Alarm filled Sakura overriding her shock for the moment. "Kakashi-sensei said he needed an appointment?"

"Yuzu forced him into it," said Karin. "She can be very insistent. You should make him get one before her technique wears off."

Sakura relaxed slightly. That sounded much more like Kakashi. She was surprised that Yuzu had managed to get a verbal agreement. Then again, there was a reason the girl had joined T&I. Just the other day Ino had told her the rumor that T&I's newest member was really an escapee from hell and had learned all of her techniques there.

Sakura froze as the realization struck home. "When Ino-chan said Yuzu escaped from hell?"

"Ichigo busted her out," clarified Kari stopped beside Sakura. "But yeah, Yuzu was really in hell. Ichigo implied it was just a really tough prison, if anyone asks."

"I don't think they'll be asking me," said Sakura forcing her legs to move.

Yuzu had been in hell? How? Why? Sakura wanted to ask, but she didn't want to know. She would ask Tsunade-shishou first. If what Karin had said about her family history was true, then maybe the rest was too. She would leave the issue of Yuzu up to Anko and Ibiki. She had her own Kurosaki twin to worry about.

By the time she had dropped off Karin, Sakura had worked herself into a frenzy—on the inside at least, she didn't want to scare her student. She used to Body Flicker to reach the Tower and then stalked up the stairs to the Hokage's office. The matter was urgent but unfortunately not urgent enough to warrant using the window. Each step gave her time to think and shape the anxiety she was feeling into more productive rage.

Sakura glared at the secretary's desk as Shizune announced her arrival and burst into the office the minute she heard shishou's voice.

"This is crazy. It's insane!" she shouted barely keeping the hysteria in check.

Seated behind a massive pile of paperwork, Tsunade managed to look sympathetic. "Thank you, Shizune. Shut the door behind you, please."

Shizune bowed to Tsunade and nodded at Naruto, who was seated at his much smaller desk catty-cornered to Tsuade's. She gave Sakura a reassuringly smile, even if she didn't know what was going on, and shut the heavy wooden doors to the office.

"Shishou, Karin told me she was from another dimension," said Sakura.

Her first charge had brought her to a stop mere centimeters from Tsunade's desk. Now Sakura leaned on it for support. There was a curiously clear spot, where the varnished wood was normally hidden beneath reports. Tsunade must have cleared it out in advance.

There was a faint creak as Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "Did you believe her?"

The question caught Sakura flat-footed. Surely, her teacher had heard the story. She wouldn't have accepted any of the Kurosakis into the ranks if they were lying about their origins.

"It sounds crazy. But she went into so much detail, and her brother and sister back her up. I mean, who would make something like that up? And why?"

Tsunade pulled the letter and a book out of a drawer. She unfurled the scroll and laid it front of Sakura.

"Take a look at this," she said.

Sakura briefly skimmed the contents of the letter. When she was done, she looked up in confusion. "It's a letter of introduction from the last Master of Uzushiogakure."

"And what's at the bottom?" pressed Tsunade.

Sakura raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "The signature?"

Tsunade pointed at a blank spot next to the signature. "Right there is a seal designed by Uzumaki Mamoru. It can only be seen by people with significant Uzumaki blood."

Sakura stared at the scroll again. She reached out a tentative hand and touched the spot. She couldn't feel any ink beneath her fingers. "Really? I can't feel anything either."

"Of course not," said Tsunade. "That's the point. Pink-hair or no, you are not a descendant of that clan." She flipped open the book. "Now look at this."

Sakura studied the book. She could see ink on the page, but it didn't resemble any language or code Sakura had ever seen. There were just vaguely letter-shaped swirls.

"It's gibberish," said Sakura. She narrowed her eyes. "Please tell me that Uzumaki Mamoru did not invent a language that could only be read by his clan."

"That would be awesome," piped Naruto.

Sakura and Tsunade both glared at him. "Not helping," they snapped. Naruto ducked his head to avoid their stares.

Tsunade flipped the book close and tapped the cover. "While that would have worked, Mamoru made the book himself with seals that would make the book unintelligible to people not of Uzumaki blood. It's an amazing blend of genjutsu and fuinjutsu."

"So?" asked Sakura. While examples of advanced fuinjutsu were rare and always interesting to observe, she couldn't see the point.

Tsunade raised a brow.

Sakura blushed. "Only someone with Uzumaki blood and excellent grasp of sealing techniques, like the Master of Uzu, could have possibly made the book. Right. What does it say?"

"There are five parts." Tsunade held up a hand displaying all five fingers.

"First, the beginning has proof of identity, records of secret deals between Uzu and Konoha that only the Master or Hokage would know. Second, a brief description of the seal he used to transport himself and why he did it. Next, there's a description of his arrival on Earth and how he met his future wife, the late Kurosaki Tsukina. Part four includes a history of the Quincy, which describes their abilities and their many conflicts with the shinigami of the Court Guard Divisions. At the end, it seems he was using it as a journal describing his on interactions with Hollows and mentions of his daughter, Masaki," summarized Tsunade. She lowered her closed fist with a look of resignation on her face. "The last entry mentions swarming Hollows, but there is no follow-up. I can only assume he was killed."

Sakura folded her arms and glared at the floor. That was a fairly comprehensive record. Obviously, Uzumaki Mamoru had wanted to leave enough proof that any future hokage would be convinced of his descendants' honesty. Furthermore, he had anticipated needing such a record in the first place. Perhaps, he had expected his descendants to return to the Elemental Countries one day. If there was bad blood between the Quincy and Soul Society, then he might have foreseen the need of an escape.

"Hey, baa-chan, can I have a look at that journal?" asked Naruto crashing through Sakura's thoughts.

Tsunade casually chucked the book at his head. "Read it if you want. Just don't show it to anyone including the Kurosakis. I want some way to independently confirm what they tell us."

"Gotcha," said Naruto tossing a casual salute. "Whacha thinking about so hard, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura raised her head. "Karin said the Central Chambers ordered their deaths so they could have Ichigo's power and the girls' too. Do you know what she meant?"

Tsunade glanced at Naruto. "You're the one who heard the story."

Naruto turned an unusually dark gaze on Sakura. "Karin told you that their mom was a Quincy and their dad was a shinigami, right?"

Sakura nodded cautiously. That had been a fairly important point in family's history. On Earth, people normally couldn't see reiatsu, so if their mother had been a regular human, she wouldn't even have noticed their father fighting an evil spirit.

Karin had also mentioned that the same stricture didn't appear true in the Elemental Countries. Sakura had been able to see the glow of Karin's healing kidou, and several shinobi had seen Ichigo's zanpaktou. That meant all the shinobi, and probably most of the civilians, had enough spiritual power to see ghosts or shinigami on Earth or be a tasty snack for a Hollow.

"Well, near as I can tell, Ichigo ended up with shinigami powers in addition to the Quincy power he inherited from his mom. His combined heritage made him super-strong," explained Naruto. "They didn't say exactly how strong, but he's at least equal to the best fighters in Soul Society, so I'm guessing a lot."

"Ichigo's significantly stronger than Karin and Yuzu in terms of spiritual power and more familiar with the techniques the shinigami and Quincy use," said Sakura to eliminate any doubt. "She mentioned it in her interview."

Tsunade made a note. "It's good to have that confirmed, though we had already suspected. Send me a transcript of your interview when you have a moment. Keep going, Naruto."

Naruto rolled his eyes and shared a quick grin with Sakura. Then his face grew serious again. "The Central Chambers is the government of Soul Society. But they aren't fighters, not like the hokage or even the daimyo. So when they realized they couldn't order Ichigo around because he was human, they got upset—scared and angry."

"She did say being a human was the trouble," murmured Sakura. A sinking feeling was growing in her chest.

"The orders to the regular army were to kill Ichigo," said Naruto. His voice deepened into a growl and his eyes flashed red. "But they also sent secret orders to some scientist, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, who also happens to be a captain in their army, to capture Ichigo's soul, and Yuzu and Karin's too, before he crossed over. The Central Forty-Six wanted the scientist to figure out how to copy Ichigo's power into other shinigami, so they could have their own super-army. Who does that sound like?"

Sakura paled and glanced at Tsunade. "Orochimaru."

Tsunade grimaced. "It sounds similar to his experiments, yes. Except this scientist in Soul Society had the government's backing."

"So he would have gotten away with capturing and experimenting on them," said Sakura. Her terror warred with her rage on behalf of her student. "They're on the run from the government of the afterlife. Of course, they had to leave."

"That's what I thought when I first heard it," agreed Naruto he sounded a touch too casual.

Sakura knew he was angry. She had seen the evidence already. It sounded like a horrible jumble of Naruto's awful childhood and the tragic story of the three Sannin rolled into one terrible nightmare. At least, Sandaime-sama had tried to protect Naruto from the weight of the kyuubi, and he had banished Orochimaru and disbanded ROOT, even if neither of those attempts were successful in the end. It was far more than this Soul Society had done for Karin's brother.

"You can understand why we're keeping the Kurosakis' personal history under wraps." said Tsunade. "Though this kidnapping situation is making that difficult."

"Oh?" asked Sakura latching on to a more comfortable subject. "How is that, shishou?"

Tsunade sighed. "Attempts have been made on Ichigo twice already. Both times in the presence of Team Gai. Coupled with what Ichigo revealed at Team Three's welcome dinner at the Hyuuga Compound, Neji is growing suspicious. He's already reported this morning, independently of Team Gai."

"Is it something I should know about?" asked Sakura glancing between Tsunade and Naruto.

Ichigo had yet to go to the hospital for a mandatory physical nor had Yuzu. Though, they had both given blood to determine their relationship to Naruto, and Yuzu had her health evaluated by the Academy's nurse. Sakura had given Karin a physical to demonstrate how the process differed from the ones she was used to in Karakura—very little truth be told. She would rely on Anko, or Ino, to bring in Yuzu before she started serious work in the T&I HQ. For Ichigo, she might have to speak to Kurenai to arrange an appointment.

Naruto chuckled. "It should definitely make his check-ups go a lot faster."

"There is that," admitted Tsunade.

Sakura narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Shishou had designed the parameters for a medical check-up herself. There were no short-cuts. "What aren't you saying?"

"Ichigo has the power to instantly, or nearly so, regenerate any damage done to his body," said Tsunade.

Sakura gaped. "You're joking." No, of course they weren't joking, but… "He can do that with reiatsu? Karin said it's almost impossible to heal physical damage with healing kidou because they're reiatsu based. That's why she had to modify them in the first place."

"Did she now?" asked Tsunade sounding intrigued. "Well, here's the kicker. Apparently, Ichigo's ability is a modified Hollow technique. Neji thought this was of particular interest because most of Ichigo's self-reported combat skill was developed in fights against Hollows."

Sakura's mouth dropped open in surprise, and her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

"He used a Hollow technique?" she barely contained a shriek. "Aren't those the evil spirits? The ones the Quincy and the shinigami fight?"

Naruto nodded. "I know, right? But don't worry, he doesn't eat people."

Sakura just closed her eyes and shook her head. "Can it get any _more_ complicated?"

"None of the Quincy techniques Ichigo mentioned to the Hyuugas or used against Team Gai match ones described by Uzumaki Mamoru," said Tsunade. "I would like you to ask Karin about them and submit a report to me."

Sakura blinked. She hadn't been expecting an answer or orders like those. "You can't just ask Ichigo? He'll know if I ask Karin."

Tsunade and Naruto exchanged a look. Sakura watched the silent communication with amusement. She could know what Naruto thought in a glance and understood her teacher's directions without a word, but she had never been able to interpret what they said to each other.

Naruto's shoulders slumped. Apparently, he had lost the debate. "Ichigo doesn't like to talk about his abilities. So you'll probably get a more complete answer out of Karin."

"We'll need to know specifics if we want to add their kekkei genkai to the village register," added Tsunade. "We don't need to know how it works, just what it means to be a Quincy."

"Okay," said Sakura still a little stunned.

She had had so much doubt when she arrived, and now she was receiving a mission, as though inter-dimensional travelers were no big deal. Maybe, Naruto and Tsunade were used to the idea by now, but she was still trying to understand.

"Now that that's settled," said Tsunade. "Break out the sake, brat! My apprentice needs a drink."

Sakura's confusion cleared. Shishou had probably drunk herself into a stupor the first time she heard the Kurosaki's story. When you were drunk enough, everything made sense, and on the wrong-end of a hangover, your head hurt too much to argue.

Sakura gratefully accepted a saucer and downed it one swallow. When she looked up, Naruto and Tsunade were watching her expectantly.

She stared back levelly and channeled inner-Sakura, who always seemed to know what to do in these situations. She held out her cup.

"I'm going to need a lot more sake."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Suigetsu stalked through the crowd. He wasn't exactly suited for this sort of mission. Sasuke was the one with the self-control and the face that could blend in anywhere; Karin had the brains to remember a dozen background stories and the personal details of every person she talked to; Suigetsu was just the guys with a sword, a shark-toothed grin, and battle lust; and right now, he had none of those things.

He dropped onto to a stool at the bar and grimaced when the motion pulled at the collar of his tunic. He irritably jerked the brown fabric back into place. It was no wonder civilians moved so slow, everything they wore was heavy and loose. He could barely recall a time when he wasn't wearing shinobi garb. Not that stupid civilian clothes would interfere if he had to knock some heads together.

The innkeeper appeared in front of him. A thick white beard with the occasional strand of brown covered most of his face, and he appeared to be smiling, but there were worry lines on his forehead and at the corners of his eyes. "What can I get for you?"

"A beer, a good one," said Suigetsu.

"Right away," said the man and he hurried off.

In a moment the innkeeper was back. He leaned in close when he set down Suigetsu's mug.

"You need to get your redheaded friend out of here as soon as possible," he said quietly.

Suigetsu stilled. "Oh, why is that?"

The innkeeper tilted his head slightly. "The men in the corner, they've been targeting traders that come through. They're looking for members of the Uzumaki clan. Why, I couldn't say, Uzu was destroyed decades ago."

Adrenaline flooded Suigetsu's body. This was the sort of lead they had been trying to find. He kept his face as calm as possible.

"Red-hair isn't a sure sign of being an Uzumaki," said Suigetsu quietly. Still, practically every Uzumaki Suigetsu had heard of had red hair, except for Naruto.

"They don't care," said the innkeeper harshly. "They spend money like it's water, so the pay must be good. Be careful." He pulled back. "If you need anything else, let me know."

Suigetsu took of sip of his beer as the innkeeper wandered off. If the men in the corner were paying customers, then the innkeeper was either a very honest man or a very corrupt one. He could either be warning them in truth or setting them up for capture on the way out of the village. Suigetsu considered it some more, well, if they were going after traders, then that was bad or business, or maybe the old man had a little red-headed grandchild and was worried about his family.

Suigetsu snorted into his mug. That was why he left the thinking to other people. There were just too many options. He preferred fighting, and killing, any day of the week.

He set down his beer and leaned against the counter, turning ever-so-slightly to get a look at the guys in the corner. What he saw made him frown.

They were shinobi—they had to be given the way the held themselves—and probably missing-nin too. Not famous missing-nin, like Atkatsuki had been, or even highly-ranked shinobi, jounin would know better than to broadcast like that. They were probably genin, who ran off after failing the Exams one too many times, or maybe some very low-ranked chunin at best.

But guys like that shouldn't have lots of money. They had to compete with other, _better_ missing-nin for jobs the villages wouldn't take or for ones at lower prices than the villages would charge. They should be holding tight to every coin they could for when work was scarce. Unless, they expected their sudden windfall to continue.

Suigestu finished off his beer and dropped the change on the bar. He included a little extra for the information. Whatever the inn-keep's motivations, he had identified the trash for Suigetsu.

The swordsman sneered at the group in the corner and stalked out of the inn. He wasn't very well going to lead them straight to their room, even if it would be an easy job to get the room number from the innkeeper's books.

Suigetsu had only walked half a block when the group of shinobi tumbled out the door. He rolled his eyes and kept going. Keeping his awareness of the group he looked for a good place to have a confrontation.

Eventually he darted into the space between two buildings. With Kubikiribocho, there wouldn't have been enough room for him to fight. Relying on the own strength of his body, which was substantial after all these years of carrying the heavy blade, he would have just enough space to confront two attackers at a time and no more. He could even flee down the opposite end to the other street, if they didn't have any back-up. He doubted they had back-up or that he would need to flee. Even without a sword, he was still a member of the elite Team Taka.

Suigetsu turned and waited for the group of missing-nin to either pass by or follow him in to the alley. A moment later, he was rewarded as a trio appeared in the empty space between the buildings. A fourth was standing by in the street proper. That was the full group from the inn, and Suigetsu didn't know if there were more.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

The one in front stepped forward. He was shorter than Suigetsu but had more bulk. With hazel eyes and tanned skin, there were a dozen places this missing-nin could have once called home. There wasn't even a forehead protector to show his former affiliation.

"Call down, buddy," he said. "We've got a business proposition for you."

Suigetsu bared his teeth in fierce mimicry of a grin. "You conduct much business in alleyways, Buddy?"

Buddy grinned back. Not intimidated by or not noticing Suigetsu's sharpened teeth. "Sure, when it's of a sensitive nature. We don't want to scare the townsfolk too much."

"What the fuck do you want?" repeated Suigetsu. It pissed him off that this pathetic missing-nin was playing around with him.

"You're new at this, living without a village, I mean," said Buddy. "You've got no shinobi gear and no weapons. Even if you are good, you can't convince civilians to hire you if they don't think you're a real shinobi."

Suigetsu glared at the idiot. He wasn't an infiltrator. He was a killer. So what if he couldn't pretend to be a civilian properly? It was a useless skill for someone like him.

"If you think I'm going to join your group, you've got another thing coming," he growled.

Buddy waved a hand. "No, no. Nothing like that. Just a trade."

"A trade?" asked Suigetsu warily. "I don't have anything to trade."

"Sure you do," said Buddy. "We'll give you some start-up money, if you hand-over that red-headed girl."

"You want to buy Karin?" asked Suigetsu honestly stunned.

Buddy grinned. "She's an Uzumaki, right? I heard her give that as her name. And she's trained a kunoichi too. If you give her to us, then you'll get something out of it. But if you keep going, well, Uzumaki are in high demand these-days. Someone else might just take her. It's not like you two have a good relationship either. So it's win-win."

Suigetsu moved. Unencumbered by the weight of Kubikiribocho, he moved like lightning. He snapped his palm up and into Buddy's nose. The bone shattered and pierced his brain. He dropped to the ground like a sack of meat. His two friends stared, and the guy in the street turned to see what had happened.

"You killed Dai, bastard!" screamed the one on the right.

He pulled a kunai and charged. Suigetsu used the man's momentum to shove him into the wall. Then redirected the swing of the kunai into the missing-nin's throat. With all of Suigetsu's considerable strength behind it, the blow severed his spinal column and drove the kunai into the wall leaving the man's limp body hanging off it.

Suigetsu turned his sight on the other two missing-nin. The one in the alley was staring in horror. Definitely a former genin. He might have killed some bandits, but he had probably never gone up against another shinobi in a death match before.

"If you think I'll let you buy Karin, you've got another thing coming," said Suigetsu grinning. It had been a long time since he killed someone. Sasuke probably wouldn't mind once he explained the situation.

"You—you just—

The other shinobi, the one in the street, made a pitching movement with his hand. A moment later, a flash-bang went off blinding Suigetsu. When he had blinked his vision clear, the two living nin were gone and he was left with a couple of dead bodies.

Suigetsu huffed and nudged Buddy—the now deceased Dai—with his toe. He didn't melt or do anything weird. So he was probably a real shinobi unlike those weird fake shinobi that had first attacked them for Karin.

With a shrug, he jumped to the roof of one the buildings. It was only a few quick hops before he was back in the room he was sharing with Karin and Sasuke.

Perched on the window ledge, he studied the tableau in front of him. Sasuke was wedged into a corner. He had that wide, startled-deer expression he wore whenever Karin got too grabby. One would think, after three years under Orochimaru's tutelage, he would be accustomed to having someone lust after his body—even if it was for very different purposes. Karin, on the other hand, had paused and was drooling slightly. She had probably been caught up in some perverted fantasy and stopped before she could seal the deal.

Suigetsu coughed. Both shinobi jumped slightly. Karin's blissful expression turned to rage.

"What are you doing coming in through the window?" she shrieked and threw the nearest object to hand.

Fortunately, it was just a pillow. Suigetsu caught it with ease and tossed it on the other bed as he entered the room fully.

"You smell like blood," said Sasuke. "What happened?"

Suigetsu shrugged. "Some guys followed me out of the bar downstairs."

"And you felt the need to kill them?" asked Karin. "We're supposed to be maintaining a low-profile."

Suigetsu sneered. "Are we, Miss Uzumaki?"

Karin stuck out her tongue but didn't say anything. No one knew Karin's real clan name. Suigetsu suspected she might have forgotten it too after her parents died. Naruto had told her, if she wanted, she could use Uzumaki as her clan name, since they were related, but this mission was the first time she had done so.

"What happened?" repeated Sasuke.

"They were missing-nin, four of them. They wanted to buy Karin, but their asking price was too low. It pissed me off, so I killed two, and two ran away," said Suigetsu looking away.

There was stunned silence from the rest of the room instead of the outcry Suigetsu was expecting. So, he looked back at the other members of Team Taka. Karin had gone pale. Her expression was caught between astonishment and horror. On the other hand, Sasuke was red with anger. There was killing rage in his eyes, and he had unconsciously activated his sharingan.

Suigetsu swallowed nervously. "That's basically what happened."

"They wanted to buy me?" asked Karin. Her voice squeaked in alarm.

"They've been kidnapping people with red-hair looking for descendants of the Uzumaki Clan," explained Suigetsu. "That's what the innkeeper told me anyway. They thought we were missing-nin and offered to buy Karin for some start-up money. Probably because as a kunoichi, she'd be too difficult to kidnap without an accomplice."

"And two ran away?" asked Sasuke. He had dismissed the sharingan but was still angry.

"Yeah," said Suigetsu. "I don't know if there were any more or not."

Sasuke pushed himself off the bed. "Get your stuff. We're leaving."

Suigetsu and Karin exchanged alarmed glances.

"But aren't we supposed to meet the Jugo and the ANBU squads at this inn?" asked Karin.

Sasuke grimaced. "If they were taking prisoners, then it means they probably left guards behind. I want to find them before they have time to regroup. We can meet the team from Konoha on the way. They won't be here until later."

In a matter of minutes, they had changed into their uniforms, assembled their gear, and after stopping to examine the dead bodies, which were depressingly lacking any useful information, they started to track the two remaining shinobi.

Between Karin's sensor-type abilities and Sasuke's tracking abilities, honed by the sharingan and advanced training with Kakashi, they found the missing-nin's hideout, a ridiculously clichéd cave, in short order.

"Six shinobi—one of them is inside the cave—and fourteen civilians," said Karin. "None of the shinobi could rank higher than chunin based on their chakra-reserves."

"Should be easy," said Suigetsu. "What do you want to do, boss?"

Sasuke shot him a look. "We need one alive to question."

Suigetsu scanned the group. "That one over there in the tan jacket. He actually had a brain in his head."

"Alright," said Sasuke. "Karin, secure that one."

Karin nodded. "Got it."

"You and me, boss?" asked Suigetsu.

Sasuke's voice was flat. "We'll kill the rest."

Suigetsu grinned. "Awesome."

In the end, it was decidedly less than awesome. Karin was able to secure the (relatively) intelligent shinobi with her chakra chains before knocking him out. The others were pathetic. Whatever meagre skills they might have possessed had deteriorated after so much time preying on civilians. The one that ran out to join the fight was even worse. He didn't even have the brain to grab one of the civilians as a hostage. Suigetsu didn't feel bad killing the missing-nin, but the fight was over too fast.

"Check on the prisoners, Suigetsu," said Sasuke.

Suigetsu snorted. Surely, Karin being an Uzumaki herself and a less threatening girl was a better choice. "Fine. Fine."

The swordsman sauntered into the cave. The entrance was a surprisingly large tunnel and the floor sloped away deep into the ground. Suigetsu could see a light gleaming from further inside. The bottom of the cave was flat, so didn't have to worry about tripping.

The end of the tunnel emerged into a small cavern. There was a lantern backed against a piece of mirror that provided illumination. In the dim light, Suigetsu could see the kidnap-victims. There were six adults, mostly middle-aged, though one was old enough to have gone completely grey. The rest were all kids. Only one old enough to be considered a teenager.

Suigetsu held back a bitter laugh. All of them were cuffed in chains rather than simple rope. He had seen much worse and had much worse done to him during his days with Orochimaru, but the sight still brought back strong memories. Still, it seemed excessive to use chains on civilians. Maybe some of their earlier captives had been shinobi.

There was a flash of movement in the corner of Suigetsu's eye. He took a step back and brought his right arm up to block.

Someone bit deep into his arm. If he hadn't so quickly, then it would have been his throat. Suigetsu let the limb liquefy slightly, and his attacker crashed to the ground with a cry.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" demanded Suigetsu as he solidified his arm.

"You can't keep us here. It's inhuman," shouted the man.

He charged again. This time Suigetsu was ready. It was simple enough to grab the man's head and hold him back. He had red hair, Suigetsu could see that much in the dim light, but his face didn't resemble Naruto's that much. The fierce, determine light in his eyes was the same though.

"At least, let my children go," screamed the man pushing with all his might against Suigetsu's grip. "Please!"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "Idiot. We're rescuing you."

The man stopped struggling. "What?"

"I said, we're rescuing you dumbass," said Suigetsu. "Now sit down so I can get these chains off."

The man dropped to the ground stunned. Suigetsu nodded in satisfaction. When he looked up, thirteen other pairs of eyes were staring at him all wide with hope.

Suigetsu huffed and removed Kubikiribocho from its harness. There wasn't enough room for him to really swing. But he wouldn't need that much force against regular iron. After a few quick chops, the chains were broken enough for the whole group to head to the surface.

Suigetsu blinked as he emerged from the tunnel. It was nearing dusk, but the light was still much brighter than that of the lantern. Still, the change was enough that he missed it when Karin slugged him in the head.

"You idiot! Why did you break his hand?" she screeched.

Suigetsu put a hand to his head wincing. "What are you talking about?"

Karin pointed across the clearing. One of the prisoners was holding his bleeding hand and looking sheepish.

"I didn't do that," said Suigetsu.

"No, I did that to get out of the cuffs," said the man.

Suigetsu glared. "You're the one that bit me."

Karin and Sasuke both looked turned to stare at the man. He was much older than them in his late thirties or possible forties. His hair was a dark red and his face was thinner than either Naruto or Karin's, but there was still something about him that screamed Uzumaki.

"Sorry about that. I'm Maku Kyoya. Thank you for freeing me and my family," he said. "We're very grateful."

"You're all part of one family?" asked Karin in surprise.

"Yes, this my wife. My father. My little sister and her husband and our cousin. And all of our children," said Kyoya. "We run a trading caravan. We go all over."

It was easy for Suigetsu to identify which was which. Kyoya's siblings and cousin had red hair while the two who married in were dark-haired. The old man had gone grey quite some time ago. He looked weak, perhaps from his time in captivity, but it was possible that he was that old.

"But you're based in Land of Wind, right?" asked Sasuke.

Kyoya nodded. "That's right. How did you know?"

"You look like Gaara," said Sasuke. "Except older."

"Gaara?" asked Kyoya puzzled. "Wait, you mean the Kazekage?"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "You know anyone else named Gaara?"

"Hey, we're not shinobi," said Kyoya. "We're just civilians. People at our level don't even think of the Kazekage, much less remember his name. We don't even know why we were attacked in the first place."

Kyoya emphasized his point with a dramatic gesture. Unfortunately, he used his broken arm. Suigetsu rolled his eyes as the man dropped to the ground with a groan. There was a panicked cry from Kyoya's wife and children.

"Karin, we won't be able to move fast enough to meet with Jugo if he's injured," said Sasuke.

"Of course," said Karin.

She bounced over to Kyoya and stuck out her arm. "Bite me."

"What?" demanded Kyoya.

"If you bite me, I can cure your arm," said Karin. "And then we can go, so hurry up."

Kyoya looked suspicious. "You're kidding."

"Bite her arm and let's get going," said Suigetsu. "Those guys were selling you to someone, and we don't want to stick around."

"Will it really work?" asked Kyoya's wife. With her dark hair, pale skin and dark eyes, she was almost as pretty as Sasuke. Only the dust on her clothes and the calluses on her hands indicated she worked for a living.

"Of course, Maku-san," said Karin.

The wife shoved her husband's head at Karin's arm. "Do it."

Suigetsu held back a snicker. Kyouya was as whipped by his wife as Naruto was by Sakura. The swordsman glanced over the entrance to the cave one more time.

The bodies of the missing-nin had been sealed away by Sasuke and Karin as had their prisoner. It still looked like someone had been attacked here, but Team Taka was not concerned about leaving evidence behind in this case. The mess would also send a warning to the group trying to meet up with the kidnappers.

When Suigetsu looked back, Kyoya was standing and waving his arm in amazement. Three of the kids were crowding around him staring though one little girl was definitely watching Karin.

"Let's get going," said Sasuke. "We'll want to rendezvous with Jugo and the escort before they reach town."

"My father can't walk very fast," said Kyoya anxiously.

Karin scoffed. "I'll carry him. Obviously."

"But you're just a girl," protested Kyoya's cousin.

The three shinobi stared at him in disbelief. Suigetsu just shook his head. Civilians were idiots about this sort of thing. Always.

"She's a kunoichi who just healed my husband," said Kyouya's wife. "She's probably much stronger than us. Children hold hands. Walk in the middle."

Under the chiding direction of the clan matriarch, the small group got underway. Suigetsu was impressed by their stamina. Even the children were moving quickly after several days in a bad situation. Then again, most of them were of Uzumaki stock, which meant they had great stamina.

Luckily the kidnapper's hideout had been between the town and the road to Konoha, so they didn't need to walk very far. The missing-nin had probably scouted the cave because of its proximity to the main thoroughfare, so it would be more convenient to transport their living merchandise.

They reached the road without incident and had been walking away from the town toward the Land of Fire for about ten minutes when a man in a mask dropped out of a tree. A few of the children shrieked while the adults cursed, but they settled down when none of the shinobi acted alarmed.

"Who are they?" asked the ANBU. Suigetsu was pretty sure his design was Cicada. He also flashed a series of hand-signs to confirm their identity.

"Civilians kidnapped to sell to a group interested in the Uzumaki," said Sasuke while he formed the appropriate countersigns.

"You mean they were after us because of that?" demanded Kyoya. "My father was barely more than a child when Uzu was destroyed. We're not even shinobi."

"We'll meet up with the rest of our comrades and discuss it," said Sasuke coldly. "We don't want to stay on the road longer than we need to."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes and looked Karin. Rather than sighing fondly over Sasuke's cool demeanor, she actually looked worried. Well, she would have been the victim of an attempted kidnapping if Suigetsu hadn't killed those guys, so maybe it was to be expected.

Another five minutes of walking and they joined with the two ANBU teams and Jugo at a temporary campsite. Suigetsu smirked quietly at the joyful expression on the berserker's face when they came into to view. The way it suddenly switched to concern and panic at the sight of civilians was more alarming, but with Sasuke present there was no way for Jugo to go off on a rampage.

While Sasuke conferred with the ANBU, Suigetsu helped Karin distribute some of the ANBU's extra food and water rations to Kyoya and his family. Usually children made faces at the bland, dry taste of energy bars, but all of the kids wolfed theirs down as quickly as possible. Suigetsu envisioned a lot of vomiting children in the future and hoped they would go separate ways before then.

While the children were distracted, Kyoya approached Suigetsu. There was a grim look on his face.

"Shinobi-san," said Kyoya. "Will you tell us why those missing-nin captured us? We weren't the only people in our caravan, but the rest were killed when we were attacked. Surely slavers would want a larger group."

Suigetsu scowled. "Did we tell you already? Those guys were selling you because you're descended from the Uzumaki Clan."

"You said that, but I have a hard time believing it," protested Kyoya. "Who even keeps track of Uzumaki these days? My grandparents even changed their name when they fled Uzu after the war."

Suigetsu shrugged "We're looking for information about that ourselves. Do you think your father would know?"

Kyoya stared. "Know what? Why people are after us?"

"If there's any group that had a specific grudge against the Uzumaki," clarified Suigetsu. "There aren't many people left who remember what Uzu was like, so if your father remembers something. It could be helpful."

"Father's health has been poor," said Kyoya carefully. "Even before we were attacked. I don't know if he can tell you anything."

"It wouldn't hurt to try," said Sasuke appearing behind Suigetsu.

The swordsman concealed a flinch and glared at the last Uchiha. Just because he was the one the ANBU wanted to deal with didn't mean he was supposed to be super sneaky like them. Intimidation tactics pissed off Suigetsu when he wasn't the one using them.

"Karin," said Sasuke.

Karin nodded and approached the oldest member of the Maku family. He was sitting down just a little beyond his grandchildren with his daughter and nephew keeping an eye on him.

"Excuse me, grandfather," said Karin at her most polite. "You grew up in Uzushiogakure, right?"

The old man stared at her blankly. After a few laborious breaths, he said, "That's right."

"Do you remember anyone who particularly opposed the Uzumaki?" asked Karin.

The old man closed his eyes. His whole body shivered. Karin cast a worried look over her shoulder at Sasuke.

"If he doesn't remember anything, then we're no worse off than before," said Sasuke.

"Against the clock," sang the old man in a childish voice. "Out of time. Against the clock. Under the lock. Beware the hands of the backwards clock. Out of time. Under the lock. Against the clock."

He kept going until his throat dried out leaving the whole company to stare at him in shock. His daughter quickly shooed Karin aside, so she could give him more water.

"The hell was that?" demanded Suigetsu feeling distinctly unsettled. "It was creepy as fuck."

Next to him, Kyoya bowed slightly. "I apologize that we couldn't be more help."

"What are you apologizing for?" grumbled Suigetsu. "Like Sasuke said, we're not any worse off."

"Of course," said Kyoya, but he still looked concerned.

Suigetsu supposed that he had been hoping his father would know something. Surely, an enemy with a face was much less frightening than one without. At least Kyoya and his family had encountered real shinobi rather than those bizarre melting fakes that went after Karin. The kids didn't need to see anything like that.

"We'll be going our separate ways," said Sasuke.

"What?" asked Kyoya. His voice was loudest, but several of the children also cried out in alarm, and the other adults looked panicked.

"Team Cicada will guard you here overnight then escort you to a Konoha outpost on the other side of the border. After that, they will contact a Suna patrol to take you home," said Sasuke. "We'll continue with Team Wren to look for the buyers."

"I see," said Kyoya. "Thank you."

He bowed again more deeply this time. The rest of his family, from the smallest child to the old man, also stood and bowed in thanks.

Team Taka said their good-byes and led Team Wren back to the cave. There was nothing else to be found. No other shinobi had come to disturb the bodies, so Team Taka had probably eliminated all of the kidnappers. In the end, Team Wren decided to stay alone to confront the buyers, while Team Taka proceeded to the next town to look for more rumors. It was after dark but returning to their original inn would be foolish.

"You got to rescue that family," said Jugo as they made their way down the moonlit road. "That must be nice."

Suigetsu huffed. "The fight was boring. None of those guys were really skilled. That idiot Maku Kyoya gave me a harder time." Saving the family was nice, but he wasn't going to admit it.

"Hopefully this will give us the break we need, and we can track down this group hunting Uzumaki," said Sasuke.

Eying Karin, Suigetsu hoped Sasuke was right. Karin had agreed to be bait, but until now Suigetsu had forgotten what that meant. If they weren't careful, then Karin would be the one tied up in a cave waiting for who knew what sort of destiny.

Suigetsu wouldn't let that happen to her. Neither would Sasuke or Jugo. They were a team, and if they ran into trouble, Konoha would send help. Then these guys hunting the Uzumaki would be wiped out permanently. Keeping that cheerful thought in mind, Suigetsu walked confidently along with his team. Everything would be fine. No matter how many people he had to kill to make it so.

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I had a bit of trouble with this chapter as you might have guessed, and it ended up being a little longer than I anticipated.

Also, it's going to be a little while before I get the next chapter out. School started up again, and I have a whole bunch of smaller assignment and one major research paper than I need to complete. But once that is done, you should expect another update. So maybe within a four weeks? After that, I should be able to catch back up.

Thank you for your continued support. I really appreciate it.


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